KRAG
by Elemental Hybrid
Summary: Four new students seek entry into Beacon Academy, each for their own reasons. One seeks atonement, one seeks control, one seeks acceptance and the last simply seeks a release for his bloodlust. All are broken in one way or another. But they will all get a lot more than they bargained for as they are teamed up with each other and must face their new companions.
1. Chapter 1- Death's Smile

**Right, so this is an intro chapter for one of my OCs for this story. Inspired by the four separate trailers for this show, I decided to do a separate intro for each character. Anyway, have fun with this.**

Chapter 1- Death's Smile

"So, that's Beacon." The boy murmured, staring up at the towers of the famous academy from the town below. "I was expecting something… more. Oh well, might as well get a move on. I didn't come all this way for nothing."

He calmly stepped out of the shadows, the streetlight illuminating the half mask styled to resemble a demonic smile and reflecting off the massive silver sickles on his back. He made use of the streetlights to check his clothes once again, idly straightening out some crease and rubbing some not-so-imaginary dirt off his shoulder. He wore part of a charcoal pinstriped suit, the jacket missing and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up past his elbows with a black tie around his neck. His mask covered his mouth, nose and cheeks. Fancy, black gloves covered his hands and a multitude of scars and burns overlapped each other on his forearms. A look of satisfaction entered his emerald eyes and he resumed walking down the street, hands in his pockets.

He was just about to walk past the mouth of an alley when he paused, head cocked. A few seconds patience was rewarded with the sound of somebody shifting in the darkness ahead. Underneath his mask the boy smiled. This would be fun.

As he continued past the alley two pairs of hands reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into the shadows and pinning his back against the wall.

"Don't make a goddamn noise or I'll cut your throat, kid. Gimme all your cash." The first mugger waved a knife in the boy's face as he spoke. The other one did his best to look intimidating just behind his partner. They had both done this before and expected it to go just like it always would: the boy would start crying, pull out all his money, possibly piss himself and run away to mommy. So both were surprised when their target began laughing. It wasn't a pleasant 'Oh that's amusing' kind of laugh either; it was more of a 'Call the men in white coats with the big needles and a padded cell quick' kind.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Let's rob the guy with the massive bladed weapons on his back. Nothing can go wrong." The boy mocked, eyes darting between them, "So which one of you idiots had this bright idea, because I'm going to kill them as a favour to the human race."

"Shut your face, fucker! You want me to kill you?!" The first mugger snarled, pushing the knife closer to the boy's neck.

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. "Your knife's in the wrong place if you're looking to kill me. Move it about a centimetre to the left. That's where one of the main arteries connected to the brain is."

The mugger could only blink at the calm, explanatory tone in his supposed victim's voice. He didn't even resist as the boy raised a hand and gently guided the blade to a slightly different spot on his neck.

"There you go. One quick thrust right there and it's curtains for me. Normally, I'd feel bad about giving this sort of info to criminals like yourself but since your life expectancy has been shortened to, oh, the next three minutes I think I can live with myself."

That snapped the mugger out of his stupor. Who the hell was this kid to threaten him so calmly?!

"That's it, motherfucker! I'm gonna- " The rest of the sentence dissolved into a strangled scream, which confused his companion to no end. The reason for the strange noise as simple: halfway through the mugger's threat one of the boy's hands had darted out and caught the mugger's crotch in a vice-like grip, emphasis on the vice. At the same time he'd gripped the man's wrist to prevent being stabbed. Now, as the mugger writhed in silent agony, he found himself looking into his target's eyes. And what he saw terrified him. Gone was any vestige of calmness; in its place lay a mixture of madness and a sadistic excitement as the boy watched his former attacker squirm.

"Now, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Grenin, but you can call me 'Dear God, make it stop' if you like."

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"This just in! Police have discovered the scene of a brutal and shocking murder in a downtown alley. The victims, who's IDs identify them as Andy Bell and Billy Sade, were found dead and horrifically mutilated with a message written above their headless bodies in their own blood. The message is as follow, 'A is for Andy, who mugged the wrong man. B is for Billy, who I dumped in the can.' Police found Mr Sade's missing head in a nearby trashcan, as predicted."

Yang grimaced and switched off the television, shuddering at the thought of what, or who, could have killed those men.

"What you watching?" Ruby asked, wandering in in her pyjamas.

"Just catching up on some news." Yang explained, briefly wondering if she should tell her sister about the murders before deciding against it. She didn't want the smaller girl worrying.

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Grenin sat on a rooftop, watching the police searching the alley for clues. He knew they would find nothing. He'd checked every inch of that alley himself before letting out the bloodcurdling scream that had attracted the first person to the scene, having made sure his victims were silenced beforehand.

"Oh yes. I think this place will do very nicely indeed." He purred as his gaze travelled to Beacon Academy.

**So… This happened. I don't know why I started this since I have two other stories I'm already struggling with but oh well.**

**As much as I hate doing this, I would like to advertise one of my own fics. Before you bugger off, please just hear me out. My other fic Traveller's Tales will be reliant on a lot of fan input, namely on where me and the others get sent next fandom-wise. SO drop by there and give a suggestion if you have the time. We could use the suggestions.**

**Anyway read and review, peoples. I love seeing a notification for a new review in my inbox.**

**C'ya**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	2. Chapter 2- Impact, Detonate

**I'm back everybody!**

**Thank you to patasaurus for Favouriting and Following this fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in here but the story and my characters. Everything else belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

Chapter 2- Impact, Detonate

Aaron walked calmly through the forest, his feet, bare save for simple cloth wrappings that went halfway up his shins, made almost no sound as he walked. His hands were also wrapped in cloth going partway up his forearms and thicker wraps were visible on his knees and elbows. All were worn over a drak grey sleeveless hoodie and baggy grey pants which were secured by the wraps on his legs. His destination was set in his mind. Beacon Academy. The goal he'd had for the past three months. His final chance. He pulled out the letter he had received all those months ago and read the script for what must have been the hundredth time.

_Mr Koreutu_

_In light of your compelling testimonial from a verifiably skilled former Hunter you have been accepted into Beacon. You schooling shall begin upon your arrival so haste is of the essence._

_We will see you soon._

_Regards,_

_Professor Ozpin_

_Headmaster, Beacon Academy_

He smiled and tucked the letter away, hand unconsciously rising to his only reminder of his reasons for wanting to come here; a simple necklace of pale blue beads. He paused to roll one of the beads between his fingers, remembering their previous owner.

"Angela." He whispered softly, eyes staring into space. Seconds later he shook his head and tucked the beads back under his sleeveless hoodie.

He could practically hear his Grandfather's voice speaking, "Reminiscing once in a while is good for you, but don't spend all your time in the past lest you miss the present."

With a sharp nod the boy continued on his way, unaware of the hungry eyes fixed on him. A rustling was the only warning he got before a Beowulf leapt out at him.

It was all the warning he needed.

Dropping into a roll, he deftly avoided the wolf-like Grimm and came up in a fighting stance, his cloth wrapped fists raised and his feet spread. Grey eyes narrowed as two more Beowulves and an Ursa made themselves known. The Beowulves all moved to surround him while the Ursa positioned itself in front of him. The boy closed his eyes, taking a deep, calming breath through his nostrils.

"Step 1: Clear your mind and focus on you heartbeat. Feel the rhythm."

The Grimm were all snarling at him, the Beowulves making mock charges. The boy didn't react at all.

"Step 2: Time your breath to your heartbeat and feel the rhythms of your body align."

The Ursa raised itself on its hind legs and gave an ear-splitting roar before beginning to lumber toward its pray. Aaron gave no sign that he was aware of it.

"Step 3: Feel the energy of your body and draw it out."

The Ursa was picking up speed and now the Beowulves were charging as well. The boy's hands began crackling with white bolts of Aura energy, the rest of his body beginning to glow gently.

"Step 4: Unleash your power."

Aaron's eyes snapped open, glowing solid white as his Aura focused around his hands and arms. The first Grimm to reach him, one of the Beowulves, was met with a shockingly powerful right jab that broke its neck. The next received a flurry of punches to the abdomen before being roundhouse kicked into a tree and impaled on a branch. The final Beowulf found an iron hard grip locked around its throat when it tried to pounce on him from behind. Aaron quickly changed his grip to its bottom jaw and placed his other hand on the back of the Grimm's skull before breaking its neck. Which left only the Ursa which was now rearing over him, ready to slam both sets of its claws down on its victim. Aaron deftly sidestepped the powerful blow, the claws missing him by centimeters, and used the Grimm's arms to launch himself over the enraged Ursa. Landing nimbly as the Grimm began to stand up, the boy turned towards the Grimm once more. When he saw it still had its back to him he smiled, this was his chance. He charged toward it as the Grimm came fully upright and gave a massive bellow of outrage at its failed attack. Before it could turn to seek him out, Aaron struck.

He came to a dead stop just behind the Ursa, left foot forward.

"Impact!" he yelled as he drove his left elbow into the small of the Grimm's back while simultaneously slamming his opposite fist into a higher spot. Both crackled with his white aura and a second later the boy was engulfed in the energy, the Grimm being enveloped in a sickly crimson glow. Time seemed to slow down for the boy as he felt his Aura touch the weak twisted excuse for the Grimm's. He twisted his fists to drive his elbow and fist deeper into the muscle of the Ursa's back before speaking again.

"Detonate!" He snarled. With a sound like a cannon blast the Aura energy at the point where he was touching the Grimm detonated with enough force to send the now very dead Ursa through several trees. As the dust cleared it revealed the boy, still in the same place and position as before and completely unaffected by the blast. He slowly stood, panting and wiping away the sheen of sweat on his face. That attack took a lot out of him but the only way to change that was to use it until it took less and less. He briefly considered seeking out a place to rest but dismissed the notion with a scowl. He was too close to finishing this. And so he turned to resume his journey to the cliff face he had seen before he entered the forest. It was time to start his tuition at Beacon.

**Well, that's done. Sorry for it being so short but these are just a way of introducing the characters and giving an impression of them.**

**Read and Review. I prefer a review over Favourites and Follows any day. *hint hint patasaurus***

**Anyway c'ya**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	3. Chapter 3- What's yours is mine

**Heyo!**

**This will be part one of a double serving today. Woo-Hoo!**

**Right, so this chapter has quite a bit of swearing in it. Mainly at the beginning. But there is a good reason for that, so bear with me. Thank you to antisnipe and Emperor of destruction for the follows and favourites. Now, on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: …I got nothing.**

Chapter 3- What's yours is mine…

"Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck, motherfucker, shit, bitch, damn it, fuck!" Rinnigan "Ringtail" Buamadoir swore over and over again, the curses nearly blurring into one another he said them so fast. It had seemed like a nice thing to do; return a gold pocket watch he may or may not have taken from the guy's pocket. Now he had what seemed to be half the Vale police force after him.

"Fuck!" He swore again as he found his path blocked by yet another police car. With no other options he picked up speed, heading straight for the fast-approaching vehicle. At the last moment, even as the cop at the wheel grinned at the thought of running the young raccoon Faunus over, Ringtail vanished in a cloud of green smoke and reappeared on the other side of the car.

"Bite me, jackass!" Ringtail yelled back at the driver before wincing as his sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of multiple crashes behind him. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions; the policeman who had tried to run him over had been so shocked at the Faunus' sudden disappearance that he'd crashed right into one of the cars coming the other way, leading to a massive pileup. The raccoon Faunus came to a stop to stare at the crash in fascination. When a whole group of policemen came from the same direction he stayed where he was, counting down in his head. One of them noticed him just standing there watching them and pointed at the young Faunus, yelling for the others to give chase. Ringtail smiled at them as the count in his head reached zero and the large crowd of people who'd come to investigate the crash swallowed him in their midst. By the time the policemen fought their way through the crowd it was too late. Ringtail was gone.

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"Well, aside from nearly getting arrested _again_, that was pretty fun." Ringtail mused as he strolled down the street to his home. He fished around in his pocket and smirked as he found the man's pocket watch from earlier. "And since that guy didn't seem to want this back, I got a little something for my troubles."

"You always were a kleptomaniac, but _this_ is something else." An older voice commented dryly. Ringtail turned so that he was walking backwards and smiled at his adoptive brother Maverick Ilos. Maverick was a 20 year old echidna Faunus with pale grey hair and golden eyes. The only animal features he possessed were the darker grey spines mixed in among his hair and a short tail. Ringtail often found himself envying Maverick for his easily hidden features. The raccoon Faunus possessed a set of animal ears that poked through his shaggy brown hair and a long tail with three white rings wrapping around it near the end. His canines were slightly lengthened and, combined with his powerful jaw, had given him an edge in a fair number of brawls.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mav," He said with mock innocence.

"You made it onto the news;" Maverick told him calmly, "Sparks wants a word with you."

Ringtail gulped. Samuel "Sparks" Impyerno was his second adoptive sibling and he was constantly attempting to keep his little brother on the straight and narrow. Which had led to more than a few lectures and butted heads between the hedgehog Faunus and Ringtail.

"Crap. He mad?"

"He went very quiet when he saw the news. Hasn't said a word other than to ask me to find you."

"Yep, he's mad. I don't suppose I could persuade you to turn a blind eye and say you couldn't find me, could I?"

The echidna Faunus looked his brother dead in the eye, vibrant gold meeting luminous green.

"No."

Ringtail hung his head. "Fuck."

The rest of the walk home was in silence, punctuated by no less than three attempts by Ringtail to slip away. After the third one Maverick refused to release his grip on the smaller Faunus' collar. He frogmarched the boy up to the front door and fished around for his keys. When he hadn't found them after a few seconds Ringtail asked, "What's the hold up? Can't find your keys or something?"

Maverick paused before extending his hand in front of Ringtail, palm up. "Hand them over. Now."

Ringtail sighed and pulled the echidna Faunus' keys out one of the multitude of pockets in his long coat, depositing them in his grey haired brother's hand. "You are such a buzzkill."

"The only reason I end your fun is because your idea of the word involves stealing, explosives or both."

"Or maybe you're just grouchy and can't stand the thought of other people having fun."

"Other people are welcome to have fun. You, not so much."

"…Grinch."

"Sparks! I found him." Maverick called into the house, ignoring his brother's insult.

"Bring him in here." The hedgehog Faunus called from their lounge.

When they entered, it was to find their redheaded sibling in his preferred armchair, his ice blue eyes immediately locking onto Ringtail. He gestured to the couch in front of him as Maverick leaned against the doorframe.

"Sit."

Swallowing nervously, the raccoon Faunus perched himself on the edge of the couch. A long uncomfortable silence filled the room as Sparks gave his brother a level stare.

"How the hell did you manage to end up being chased across the city by half the police force?" He finally asked.

"I was just returning a pocket watch when the guy flipped out on me. Called the cops and told them I was harassing him and his lady friend so they tried to arrest me. I didn't do anything wrong so I started dodging them. One of them must have called for backup because then more cops arrived. There were too many to dodge effectively so I ran. They chased and more cops kept joining the group coming after me." Ringtail said, mostly truthful.

"How did the watch end up in your hands, Rinnigan?" Sparks asked, his tone making it clear that he already knew the answer but wanted to hear the younger Faunus say it.

Ringtail slumped; Sparks only ever used his real name if he was in big trouble. "I picked his pocket."

Sparks sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, the small triangular ears on top of his head twitching with annoyance. "Ringtail, you're trying to get into Beacon. What do you think they'll think when they see this little stunt?"

"That I'm obviously really agile and quick and can think on my feet?" Ringtail offered.

"They're going to think you're a criminal, untrustworthy and a liability." Maverick stated in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

Ringtail opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by a knock on the door. Before either of his brothers could offer Ringtail called, "I'll get it."

He then dashed to the door, sidling around Maverick en route. He opened it and found himself looking at a girl about his own age in a red cloak, her hand raised to knock again.

"Oh, hi! I'm Ruby. I'm looking for…" She glanced down at an envelope in her hand, "Rinnigan. Is he here?"

Ringtail smiled at her. "That's me. How can I help ya?"

"Great! I was told to deliver this to you since I was coming to town anyway." Ruby said, handing him the envelope, "Nice meeting you, but I've gotta go! Bye!"

Before the Faunus could reply the girl was gone, disappearing in a burst of rose petals. Ringtail stood there for a second, looking at the spot she had just been occupying, before finally saying, "Huh. So that's how people feel when I disappear like that."

He strolled back into the lounge, letter in hand and took his seat on the couch. Sparks raised an eyebrow at him.

"So, who was it?"

"Some girl called Ruby. Apparently she was told to give me this." Ringtail replied, holding up the letter.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Maverick asked.

Ringtail shrugged but instead of opening the letter he raised it to his nose and sniffed. Apart from a hint of roses that he attributed to its courier there was nothing unusual he could detect.

"What are you doing?" Maverick asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Just checking for booby traps. You know, micro explosives, paint bombs, that sort of thing."

"Ringtail, I can say with near certainty that you are the only person who would hide a paint bomb in a letter and rig it to go off only when the letter is opened."

"Heh, it was worth it to see you covered in pink paint."

"What about all those bruises I gave you, were they worth it?"

"Guys! How about we just open the letter, okay?" Sparks suggested.

Ringtail ripped off the top of the envelope and slipped the paper from inside. He unfolded it and idly began reading the contents before a huge smile spread across his face and he jumped into the air, giving a whoop of joy.

"What's got you so happy?" Maverick inquired, curiosity tingeing his voice.

Ringtail passed him the letter.

_Dear Mr Buamadoir_

_After reviewing your application and seeing footage of you in action, it has been decided that you will be accepted into Beacon. Obviously you will be at a slight disadvantage joining us partway through the year but your timing has proven most fortuitous as we are only a few weeks into the syllabus. I believe that with determination and diligence you will be able to catch up any missed work. Your schooling will begin as soon as you and the other new students you will be in a team with arrive._

_We will see you soon._

_Regards,_

_Professor Ozpin_

_Headmaster, Beacon Academy_

_PS: I saw your run in with the police today on the news. I am impressed by the level of cunning and agility you displayed but make no mistake law breaking will not be tolerated at Beacon. You have been warned._

"Hm, looks like we were both right about what they would think of you." Maverick commented. He turned to Sparks, who was giving him a questioning look. "Our little brother is going to Beacon." He explained.

Sparks' face split into a smile and he jumped up and shook Ringtail's hand. "Congrats, Ring! When are you heading off?"

"The letter says that I start as soon as my new teammates and I arrive, so I guess sooner rather than later."

"So tomorrow, huh?" Sparks asked, his smile turning bittersweet.

Ringtail also seemed to realise the implications of his acceptance, his ears flattening against his head. "I guess so."

Maverick laid a hand a shoulder each, one of his rare smiles on his face. "Stop being so mopey; that's my job. Ringtail, let's get you packed. Sparks, let's give him a hand."

The two nodded and followed after the eldest of their little trio.

Ringtail glanced out a window and could just spot the lights of Beacon in the distance. A smile spread across his face as he thought of what was to come.

"Better get ready, Beacon, 'cause here I come."

**Yay, another intro done!**

**If you get the reference in the title, you get a reward. "What reward?" you ask. I'm still thinking but it will only go to the first person to get the reference. There was also a reference in the previous chapter (not in the title but in the actual story) so check it out. A hint for chapter 2's reference: It has to do with Aaron's finishing move on the Ursa. Prizes for whoever gets my references first.**

**Read and Review, preferably Review.**

**C'ya**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	4. Chapter 4- Peek-A-Boo

**Double Serving, everybody!**

**Here it is! The final intro. Enjoy! Now it's Disclaimer Time!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer Time is nothing like Adventure Time.**

Chapter 4- Peek-A-Boo

Kurt watched his target approach him and his fellow thieves. The target was tall with a ragged coat hiding any form of gender and walked hunched over. A large white bundle sat on its back and a dark purple top hat with needles and spools of thread attached was perched on top of its head, obscuring its face.

"Hey! Hand over all your money and any Dust you got and we'll let you go! Otherwise we'll take it off your corpse!" Kurt yelled, stepping into the road.

The figure paused and raised its head, revealing dark grey wrappings covering its entire face with two black lenses over the eyes. It slowly turned its head, seeming to examine each of the six thieves in turn.

"Did you hear me? Hand over everything now or die!" Kurt bellowed, irritated with the stranger. Its only response was to slowly turn its head back to him and start making a steady 'tick, tock' noise. After a few seconds it slowly reached around and slid the bundle's straps off its shoulders, setting the large bag on the road gently. Kurt smiled, thinking the figure was submitting. He couldn't have been more wrong.

With lightning speed the stranger lunged forward, fist drawing back to strike one of the thieves closest to it. The poor man barely registered the movement before his windpipe was crushed by a right jab and he collapsed, choking and gagging. Two thieves charged the figure from either side, hoping to catch their opponent off guard. The stranger tossed their cloak in one of the thieves' face and spun to face the other. What followed was a spectacularly brutal takedown as the stranger, who they could now see was male and wrapped head to toe in strips of dark grey cloth, proceeded to rain blows on his opponent before finishing the thief off by snapping his neck.

By the time he was done the second thief had disentangled himself from the cloak and the rest had moved to surround their victim, weapons raised.

"Motherfucker! Those were my friends! I'll fucking kill you!" Kurt snarled. He felt a sense of primal satisfaction as the stranger's movements seemed to become more panicked, their head darting from thief to thief. Just as the man turned away from him Kurt yelled, "GET HIM!"

The thieves all charged as one. The stranger fended them off as best he could but he only lasted a few seconds before one of the thieves plunged a blade into his side. The falter that followed was all the rest needed to lunge forward and bury their own blades in the murderer of their friends, Kurt stepping forward to stab his blade right through the man's chest. They all backed off as the figure slumped, their weapons still in his body. After a few seconds of them all staring at the corpse, Kurt said, "Check the bag. See what he was so eager to protect."

"What about you, boss?"

"I'm going to see what this bastard looks like under those bandages of his."

The remaining three thieves nodded and walked towards the bag, leaving their leader to glare at the body of the man who'd spoiled his operation. He slowly reached forward and got a grip on the wrappings covering his opponent's face and was about to tug them off when he heard an unfamiliar and slightly muffled voice shout, "Peek-A-Boo!" followed by the boom of a shotgun.

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_A few seconds earlier…_

Kulamin smiled as he heard the thieves approaching him, settling Soul Binder so that it was aimed right at the opening of the bag. He could hardly wait to see the look on the face of whoever opened the bag first. He felt his heartbeat speed up as the footsteps stopped, shortly followed by a rustling noise.

Byron the thief pulled the bag open and found himself staring not at a bag full of potential loot but instead at the business end of a large shotgun. Raising his gaze slightly he found a boy whose face was painted to look like a skull and who was smiling widely at him.

"Peek-A-Boo!" Kulamin yelled cheerfully, before pulling the trigger and removing half of Byron's head from existence. The body was thrown clear of the opening from the force of the blast and Kulamin pushed himself up to find the two other thieves staring at the fresh corpse in shock, their leader turning towards them to investigate the noise. Now that just wouldn't do.

The skull painted boy raised Soul Binder and put two 12-gauge slugs in the thief on the right before swinging and repeating the procedure with the thief on the left. He then switched his aim to the leader.

"Give it up, kid. Your daddy might have tried to protect you but he's dead, just like you'll be if you don't give up." Kurt yelled at the boy in front of him, a crack in his voice betraying his nervousness. The shotgun wielder wore a rich purple waistcoat with the edges lined with gold over a form fitting black top. A wide, dark brown belt hung across his chest and dark purple slacks were visible above the edge of the bag.

Kulamin laughed at him before responding with a faint Filipino accent, "Seriously? Last I checked I was the one with the shotgun. Also; father? Seriously? That's not my dad. That's a freaking puppet, you dumbass."

Kurt couldn't resist a glance back at the still figure and it was only then that he noticed the lack of blood. He swung back as the boy began talking again, having climbed fully out of the bag while Kurt was distracted.

"Now, let me introduce myself. I am Kulamin Marioneta." He indicated the black and purple weapon in his hands and said, "This is my weapon, Soul Binder. Soul Binder is an AA-12 Combat Shotgun. It was fully automatic and drum-fed with minimal recoil, could fire five shells per second and could use FRAG-12 ammo, which is basically mini fragmentation grenades, as its ammo before I got my hands on it. Now the magazine size and accuracy is increased, it has semi-aouto and single shot modes, it can take Dust infused shells to give my shots elemental effects and can use my Aura for ammunition when the magazine is empty. Short version: you, and your shitty little knife, are fucked." He hefted the shotgun to his shoulder and said, "You are welcome to try and run, but expect an extremely fatal pain in your spine if you do." He seemed to think for a second. "No, wait, you're going to die anyway."

Kurt turned and bolted down the road, jinking left and right in the hopes of avoiding any shots. Kulamin pursed his lips and briefly considered letting the man go before he shook his head, took aim and squeezed the trigger, holding it there for a second before releasing. Five shells worth of buckshot flew down the road, more than half missing the fleeing thief. But the rest found there target and Kurt fell, dead before he even hit the ground.

Kulamin smiled as he strolled towards his puppet, holstering Soul Binder on his back. He plucked the top hat from its head and settled it firmly on his own before he calmly removed the blades still stuck in his creation. He then gripped it under the shoulders and began to drag it towards the bag, his black boots, which had a skull designs painted on the toes, sliding a bit on the loose dirt. Upon arrival at his destination he heaved the puppet into the bag and pulled the bundle closed. Finally he set Soul Binder on the ground while he hefted the bundle on his own shoulders and reclaimed his weapon afterwards.

"Now, let's see if anyone else wants to try and rob me on the way to Beacon." He murmured gleefully and continued down the road, leaving the bodies of his former attackers lying in the sun.

**Well, there you have it. The final intro. I've recently looked back at all my recent OC ideas and find myself mildly disturbed by how many of them are homicidal. Oh well.**

**Look up the AA-12 Combat Shotgun if you get the chance. It's a real weapon and you'll get a more in-depth explanation as to what the FRAG-12 ammo is. It's also really, really cool.**

**Also, I've decided what the prize for getting the references will be. You may give me an OC and I will do my best to give them a minor role in a later chapter. Okay? Good.**

**Read and Review.**

**C'ya**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	5. Chapter 5- From CRAK to KRAG

**Hooray! First story chapter!**

**Guest: Thank you for being the first person to review my story. It gave me a huge motivation boost to finally get a review. It was actually a reference to the recently released remake of the game **_**Thief**_**. Thanks for the advice though. I do plan to develop each of them as I go along, and I already have unique backstories for each of them that will be revealed at a later time. The best part is that you haven't even seen the full extent of their abilities yet. Looking forward to possibly hearing from you again.**

**Still waiting to see if someone gets Chapter 2's reference and to help you along here's another hint: Soul Eater. Next chapter I'm just going to assume nobody got it and explain it, which means that nobody gets the prize.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my characters and the plot of this little story.**

Chapter 5- From CRAK to KRAG

Ringtail tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the next airship to arrive. He'd said a bittersweet farewell to his brothers that morning before dashing for the docks. On the way he had found his melancholy being replaced with a sense of giddiness and excitement. It was a bit of a shame that he had arrived at the docks just in time to see the last airship pull away but he knew that another would arrive at some point so he waited. He'd donned a battered black beanie to hide away his ears and the long coat he always wore did a good job of hiding his tail from view as well; the last thing he needed today was to get harassed by some racist prick while he was waiting for his ride to Beacon.

He turned as the sound of approaching footsteps reached him, spotting a boy with a purple top hat on his head and a large shotgun in his hands approaching.

"Greetings," the boy called cheerfully, his warm demeanour providing a strange contrast to the weapon in his hands.

"'Sup. You goin' to Beacon?" Ringtail asked curiously. Maybe this was going to be one of his teammates.

"Indeed. I was accepted a while back but it has taken me a fair bit of time to arrive." The boy replied, gaze fixed on the horizon.

"Lucky you. I only got accepted yesterday."

The boy glanced at him. "Yesterday? I wasn't aware they were still allowing entries."

Ringtail shrugged. "Surprised me too. Never would have guessed my acceptance letter would be delivered like that either."

"Oh? How was it delivered?"

"Some girl in a red hood showed up on my doorstep, gave me the letter then just disappeared. Literally."

"Disappeared?"

"Yep. One minute she's right in front of me, next she vanishes and all that's left is this weird burst of rose petals."

"Hm, sounds interesting. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Kulamin Marioneta. A pleasure to meet you." Kulamin held out his hand.

"Rinnigan Buamadoir, but I prefer Ringtail." Ringtail shook Kulamin's hand with a grin.

"Ringtail? Why Ringtail?" Kulamin asked, confused.

"Oh, right. Forgot they were hidden." Ringtail said sheepishly, reaching up and tugging off his beanie with one hand while pushing his coat aside and exposing his tail with the other.

"Oh, you see, now it makes sense. You're a Faunus."

"Eeyup."

"Well, nice to meet you. I look to working with you in the future." Kulamin inclined his head to Ringtail, before spotting the approaching airship out of the corner of his eye and jokingly calling, "Airship ahoy!"

Ringtail turned and spotted their ride approaching. "Nice. Now we can finally get to Beacon."

"How long have you been standing here to be so impatient?" Kulamin asked, his voice a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

The Faunus shrugged. "I dunno, except that it was too long for my attention span."

Kulamin chuckled at that as they both boarded the airship, Ringtail seeing to it that his luggage was stored away. He raised an eyebrow at the bundle that Kulamin still carried. "Why don't you store that in the hold?"

"I prefer to keep it with me. It is all I have and I would prefer to keep an eye on it." Kulamin replied easily. "Not to mention keeping unwanted eyes out of it." He added mentally.

Ringtail shrugged it off. If Kulamin wanted to keep an eye on his possessions that was his deal, not Ringtail's.

The ride there was uneventful, the two new students making idle small talk as they travelled. As soon as they docked and the doors opened Ringtail shot out the door like a brown missile, eager to get his first good look at Beacon Academy. Kulamin chuckled at his new friend's excitement as he slung his possessions onto his back and hefted Soul Binder. He could feel a sense of tightness in his chest that signified his own excitement at finally arriving at Beacon but he obviously had far better control over it than the Faunus. He stepped out to find a small welcoming committee waiting; a grey haired man with small dark glasses, a cane and a mug and a severe-looking blond woman with a riding crop. In front of them stood Ringtail and a smaller boy with platinum blond hair and what appeared to be bandages wrapped around his hands and feet. Ringtail was leaning on his suitcase while they waited for his top hat wearing companion and the other boy had his arms folded. The grey haired man smiled as Kulamin approached and took a sip from his mug before saying, "Ahh, Kulamin Marioneta, I presume."

"You presume correctly though you have me at a disadvantage, Mr…?"

"Professor Ozpin. I'm the headmaster of the Academy. And this is my co-worker, Professor Goodwitch." The blond woman inclined her head in greeting but otherwise didn't move. "I believe you have already acquainted yourself with Mr Buamadoir and your other companion is Aaron Koreutu." The boy nodded politely to Kulamin before returning his gaze to Ozpin.

"Now, it appears that we are only waiting for Christian Mangele to arrive." Ozpin observed.

"Christian wouldn't happen to be a boy with brown hair and green eyes and wielding a pole arm, would he? Because if so he isn't coming." An unfamiliar voice with a faint metallic edge replied. All of them turned and found a figure wearing a demonic-looking half mask with two sickles on his back sitting cross-legged on top of the airship Kulamin and Ringtail had arrived in.

"And why is that?" Ozpin asked calmly, before taking another sip from his mug.

"He's dead." The new boy stated calmly, as casual as if he was commenting on the weather.

"Bummer." Kulamin said, equally casual.

"Yes, I do suppose it would throw a few plans out of whack." The new boy replied. The other two students were a bit disturbed by how unaffected the two boys seemed by the death.

"How did you come by this information, Mr…?" Glynda asked suspiciously.

"Osmjesi, Grenin Osmjesi." The boy supplied, jumping off the airship, "And as for how I know, I found his body."

Ozpin indicated that he should continue. Grenin shrugged and did as requested, "I travel a lot and I was making my way down a path when I heard the sounds of battle between what sounded like Grimm and a Hunter. I moved to investigate but before I got there I stopped hearing the Hunter fighting back. By the time I got there, it was too late. The Grimm had overwhelmed him. He'd taken out a hell of a lot of them, but they'd just kept coming until he made a mistake. I found his acceptance letter on his body and thought I'd deliver the news. I've already informed the family and I returned the body to them so we don't have to worry about that."

"You say the Grimm overwhelmed him, but you make no mention of any lingering by his body." Glynda observed suspiciously.

Grenin shrugged again. "Why would I? I killed all of them anyway."

There was stunned silence, broken by Aaron. "You? You killed the Grimm that managed to take him down? Alone?"

"Well I'm guessing some of them had wandered off but all the ones that were still in the clearing died by my hand." Grenin said as if it was no big deal.

"Impressive." Ozpin commented, "I wonder, what Academy do you belong to?"

"None. I'm a wanderer." Grenin replied.

"Then perhaps you would consider accepting tuition here? We require another member for our three newest students to form a team and you apparently have skill in battling Grimm."

The sickle wielder seemed to mull it over, looking skywards as he thought. After a few seconds he looked Ozpin in the eye and said, "Sure. Not like I have anywhere else to be or anything else to do."

"Do you not realise how big a deal this is?" Ringtail seemed shocked by how casual Grenin was being about the whole situation, "You just got a spot at Beacon by _showing up_! How are you not excited?"

"My natural awesomeness prevents me from getting overexcited over such things." Grenin replied, completely deadpan.

There was dead silence as everyone tried to figure out if the mask wearing boy was joking or not. The answer became apparent when he started laughing at them. The laugh didn't really sound healthy though; their seemed to be an edge of mania to it that disturbed the other students. When Grenin had finally calmed down Ozpin spoke again, "I suppose we will have to modify the name of your team as well to accommodate for changes made. Previously you would have been Team CRAK (Crack) but since that is no longer a possibility how does Team KRAG (Crag) sound?"

Aaron shrugged, "Sounds fine to me."

Grenin simply nodded his head in agreement. Ringtail said, "Works for me."

"There are certainly worse things to be called." Kulamin commented.

"Good. Now follow Miss Goodwitch please. You'll be going through initiation today and she will show you where you must go and explain what you must do. For now, I must bid you goodbye. I will see you all at the cliff face." Ozpin said before turning and striding off.

"So, Goodwitch, eh?" Grenin said slowly, "Your family wouldn't happen to have a rivalry with another would they? The Wests maybe; or maybe the Wickeds."

No one could tell for sure but they all got the impression that there was a shit eating grin behind the mask. Goodwitch, for her part, flat out ignored him.

"Follow me." She said, turning and striding off without waiting for them. As Ringtail moved to pick up his luggage she called back, "Don't bother with the luggage. Someone will be along to transport it shortly."

The four followed after her, all of them but Grenin taking in the sights around them. He had been here since yesterday and had already seen all he needed to of the school. He was examining his new companions, a calculating look in his eyes.

"Aaron is closed off, can't get a good read off him. He's obviously highly disciplined and if those muscles are any indication he trains hard and regularly. No weapons visible and there aren't exactly many places he could conceal any on his person so he either fights unarmed or his weapons are among his things." The sickle wielder thought, eyes locked on the platinum blond boy. He then switched his gaze to Ringtail. "Loud seems to be a fairly apt description. No idea what he fights with since the coat hides his torso. A quick thinker if that police chase yesterday was anything to go by. Wonder what his fighting style is like."

Finally his eyes settled on Kulamin. "Interesting dress sense, though I guess that's rich coming from me. Wouldn't be surprised if his shotgun is more than it seems. Despite seeming open and friendly, I realise that he has actually given out no information about himself beyond his name. Reaction to my earlier statement suggests he isn't affected greatly by death which in turn suggests that he may be familiar with it. Curious."

The sickle wielder turned his eyes ahead, mulling over his observations. The walk passed in silence; three of the participants to busy looking around to talk, one thinking of his new companions and the other uninterested in conversing with them. The arrived at the cliff face overlooking what Aaron realised was a familiar forest.

"Hey, this is the place I walked through." He observed, raising an eyebrow.

"Really? What's it like?" Ringtail asked curiously.

"Nice enough place if you don't mind Grimm."

"Oh. Okay."

Goodwitch cleared her throat to get their attention and once she was sure she had it she spoke. "The goal of your initiation is simple. Reach the temple located somewhere in the woods, retrieve the relic hidden there and make it back, dealing with anything that gets in your way as you see fit."

"So, kill it?" Grenin said slowly.

"In essence, yes."

Grenin chuckled darkly. "Awesome."

"I see Glynda has explained the rules to you all. Are you ready to begin?" Ozpin said as he walked in front of them, fresh mug of coffee in hand.

Ringtail raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Did you seriously leave just to get another cup of coffee?"

Ozpin smiled, amused. "No, there were matters that needed my attention but I realised that I may as well refill while I was there." He turned serious as he began speaking to all of them, "Normally the initiation would be used to decide who you are in a team with. However, since it is already decided that you four are teammates the initiation will decide who your partner is."

"Partner?" Ringtail asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yes. The first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the remainder of your stay here. Do you understand?" He received four nods in response. "Good. Now please step on a slab each."

Each of them took a spot on a stone slab, wondering at the odd request. Grenin turned to Ozpin, curiosity alight in his eyes. "So, how exactly are we getting dow-" He paused, a deadpan look appearing in his eye that matched his tone when he asked, "These are launch pads, aren't they?"

Ozpin just smiled widely before activating the pads and flinging them into the sky.

"…I'll never get tired of that." He said, still smiling.

"Why did you disappear earlier?" Glynda asked him, eyes following the flight paths of the newest students.

"I was making sure the screens displaying our initiation feeds were working, as well as informing the students of our newest additions."

Goodwitch nodded before asking, "Will they be watching the feeds?"

"I feel it is best for them to see the newest group in action. It won't be easy finding their place here and this might give them a handy reputation boost and prevent them from undergoing unnecessary harshness from the other students."

She glanced at him. "You almost seem like you're getting soft."

Ozpin shook his head, a serious look appearing on his face as he said, "No, but I do not think it is a good idea for this group to be trifled with. You heard the conversation between Mr Osmjesi and Mr Marioneta. Neither of them reacted to the thought of death which means they are either impeccable actors or they are used to it. I have a suspicion that it is the latter and it would not do to antagonise such people. Seeing them in action may… discourage any hostile action towards them."

"…Understood. Do you want me to keep an eye on them?"

"I think that would be for the best, yes."

**Right, so the actual initiation will happen next chapter. Then you guys finally get to see Grenin and Ringtail in action and a bit more of Kulamin's abilities will be on display.**

**I am honestly amazed at the speed I have managed to get these chapters out. Don't come to expect such quick updates later on. I'm surprised that I've already got this many cahpters going.**

**As always Read and Review**

**See you then**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	6. Chapter 6- Initiation

**Initiation, ho!**

**Guest: Good to hear from you again. Thanks for the praise and I'll keep the length thing in mind. My chapters do tend to get longer as the story progresses so we'll have to see if the pattern repeats. Besides, this chapters pretty long, right? Yeah, Kulamin's a bit difficult to read what with the cold-blooded murder in his intro and then his friendly politeness in Chapter 5. By the way, thank you for the idea. I've made use of something you mentioned in your review for the story. You'll have to read to find out what it is though.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

Chapter 6- Initiation (or How to Torture a Grimm)

Grenin cackled as he flew through the air, the wind whistling in his ears. So far his stay at Beacon was proving most entertaining. There weren't many places out there willing to launch their students off of cliffs after all. As the forest canopy approached he unsheathed his weapons and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. As he pierced the canopy he lashed out with the weapons, swinging around a branch and flipping off. He then caught another branch and repeated the process until he had bled off enough momentum to land safely. He stood slowly and cracked his neck.

"Now, let's see what wants me dead in here." He murmured gleefully and began walking through the forest, sickles resting on his shoulders and entirely unaware of the cameras watching him.

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Aaron wasn't concerned about being launched into the sky. He wasn't concerned about the long fall or the extremely sudden stop that would inevitably follow. No, he was worried about his teammates. One in particular anyway.

From what he'd seen of Grenin, Aaron could tell the boy was off. It wasn't entirely obvious but the signs were there. Not to mention his Aura showed it clear as day. It had only taken one glance at the sickle wielder's Aura for Aaron to know that Grenin was not someone you wanted as an enemy. Hell, he wasn't even sure he wanted him as a friend. His Aura was muddied but the grey eyed boy thought he had seen something akin to honour in the boy. Maybe if he could get Grenin to give his word on something then he would know for sure. Peoples' Auras had a way of flaring with their honour when they promised something.

He came out of his thoughts to find himself less than a hundred meters above the trees. The whole time he'd been flying through the air he had maintained the same position; upright as if still standing on the platform, eyes straight ahead and arms folded, in stark defiance of the laws of logic, aerodynamics and physics. So far he seemed to be winning. He calmly pulsed his Aura as the first branches approached, the energy shoving the branches aside just before they made contact. He then noticed that he was fast approaching a thick tree trunk. He flipped himself around so that he was racing at it feet first and began focusing his Aura. Just before he impacted his entire body flashed white and he ploughed straight through the tree, hitting the ground a few seconds later as the impact had taken away a lot of his momentum. He slowly stood up from the small crater he had caused and dusted himself off, glancing at his surroundings.

"Now, let's see what sort of relics they're giving us." He said, cracking his knuckles before flipping up his hood and walking deeper into the forest.

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"You have to admit, that was pretty awesome." Yang commented as team RWBY watched Aaron walk deeper into the forest.

"He's obviously hardy enough to handle most of what the forest can throw his way if he can do that." Blake observed.

"Hey, look! Rinnigan's about to land!" Ruby called out, pointing at the screen displaying the Faunus.

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Ringtail whooped as he sailed through the air, arms and legs spread out to slow his descent slightly. He wasn't feeling very worried about his own landing because his Semblance allowed him to cancel all momentum when he teleported. It took a lot of energy to do, and the faster he went the harder it became but it had saved his life on a few occasions so it all worked out. He waited until he was practically touching the canopy before he teleported, cancelling out enough momentum that his next move wouldn't cause him harm. That next move involved unfolding his weapons, a set of long metallic claws, and using them to latch onto a tree, spinning around it in a corkscrew pattern until he reached the ground. He promptly fell over from dizziness and lay there for a while, waiting for the world to stop spinning before he stood up.

When he did rise, he groaned and rubbed his head, muttering, "That seemed like a better idea in my head than in real life." He shrugged. "Oh well. I guess I'd better get a move on if I want to meet up with the others."

The brown haired Faunus darted off into the forest, claws held back and to the side as he ran.

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Kulamin was the only member of team KRAG worried about his landing, not because he couldn't accomplish it safely but because the only option he could see would reveal more of his hand than he was comfortable showing. Then he realised that he would be here for a long time and people would find out what he was capable of anyway. He might as well make sure it was on his terms that that happened. He swung the bundle around to his front and reached inside and pulled out… a set of cloth and metal wings.

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"What the heck is he doing?" Yang wondered, confused. Her teammates all shook their heads, equally confused.

"He can't honestly believe that those will help him, can he?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

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Kulamin grinned as he slung the wings onto his back, the harness attached to them fitting perfectly over his torso. He stopped grinning as he remembered the last time he had made use of the items, and the pain it caused.

"…This is gonna suck if it works and kill me if it doesn't." He muttered. And then, without giving himself any more time to think, he pulsed his Aura through the constructs. He bit back a scream as the wings unfurled, his Aura making them act as part of his own body. It was utterly excruciating.

"Beats the hell out of dying." A small part of him observed.

He spread the wings and with a few flaps had slowed his fall. He knew that maintaining the wings would become harder and harder as he went so he circled down and gently landed on the forest floor, severing the connection to the artificial limbs as he did so. He then folded them back up and stuffed them in the bundle, smirking as he thought of what people would say if they had seen what he just did. He was, of course, completely unaware that such a thing was happening, as several Beacon students stared open-mouthed at the screen displaying the skull-painted boy.

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"…What… What just happened?" Ruby asked, wide-eyed.

"He… he… he just put those things on and… and flew." Yang replied, equally shocked.

"…That's… That's…" Weiss seemed to be having trouble thinking of her next sentence.

"Freaky?" Yang offered.

"Unnatural?" Blake suggested.

"Awesome?" Ruby added, earning strange looks from her teammates. She failed to notice them and her eyes darted to Grenin's screen, which revealed that he had just encountered a whole group of Beowulves. "Look!"

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Grenin stared dully at the Grimm around him. For a few seconds silence reigned in the clearing. Then he started to sing, his voice quiet and his eyes darting from victim to victim while his face remained serious.

"It's hiding in the dark,

Its teeth are razor sharp,

There's no escape for me,

It wants my soul, it wants my heart.

No one can hear me scream;

Maybe it's just a dream,

Maybe it's inside of me,

Stop this monster."

Grenin slowly took his sickles off his shoulders, letting them hang by his side. As he continued singing his voice filled with malice and a smile appeared under his mask to match the demonic one on the mask.

"I feel it deep within,

It's just beneath the skin;

I must confess that I _feel like a monster_."

And then he attacked. One of his sickles flew out, trailing a chain from its handle, and embedded itself in a Beowulf's skull before he yanked it back into his grip. A disturbing chuckle escaped Grenin as madness sparked in his eyes. He settled into a combat stance, sickles ready, and in a voice that promised only pain in the near future said, "Let's have some fun. Don't die too quickly."

And then he was moving again, his weapons lashing out with blinding speed to slash and hack at the unfortunate Grimm. After just a minute there were only two Beowulves left, one with a large slash across its chest while the other had one arm hanging limply at its side.

"Congratulations, you survived longer than I expected. Of course that just means I'm going to hurt you very, _very_ badly now." Grenin stated maliciously, "This was too easy though. Perhaps reinforcements are in order. I've got just the thing. Of course, I'll need there to be only one of you so…"

He suddenly snapped out one of his sickles, stabbing the Beowulf with the useless arm in the head and killing it instantly.

"There. Much better."

The other Beowulf snarled and charged at him. Grenin didn't move as it came closer and closer, simply watching it. As the Grimm swiped at him, the sickle wielder sidestepped and pinned its hand to the ground with one of his sickles. The Beowulf roared and thrashed, swiping at him again. Grenin's response was to pin its other hand to the ground. He then cracked his knuckles and gripped the monster by the jaw.

"…Scream for me." He whispered, voice filled with sadistic joy, "Call for help. Give me my fight. Satisfy the monster in me."

The Beowulf snapped at him and Grenin responded by throwing an uppercut into its jaw. He then circled around the trapped Grimm.

"Scream for help." He demanded. When the Beowulf only snarled at him, the sickle wielder raised his foot and broke the Grimm's leg.

"Scream!" he roared.

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"Oh my god." Pyrrha whispered, appalled, as Grenin continued to torture the Grimm on the screen.

"Even a Grimm doesn't deserve this." Ren said, shaking his head.

"No better than the monsters we hunt." Weiss growled, shaking her head angrily.

"What could make someone do that?" Ruby asked quietly, unheard by the others.

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Grenin scowled behind his mask. The Grimm had collapsed, dead or passed out he wasn't sure which. He quickly rectified that by stabbing it in the head. He shook his head, muttering, "Tsk, tsk. You should have just screamed."

He turned and surveyed his handiwork. The clearing he was in was covered in blood and pieces of dead Grimm, which were already starting to disappear.

"…Hmph. You lot died too quickly. Now I need something else to kill." He muttered irritably, before he turned and continued his walk through the forest.

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Aaron slowly emerged from the trees, on high alert for anything waiting to attack him. When nothing sprang out he relaxed slightly and began moving towards the temple he could see, smirking as he realised he was the first one there. He approached and found a single pedestal in the centre holding, of all things, a teddy bear.

"What. The. Fuck?" The martial artist asked after staring at the item for a few seconds. He turned as a loud boom echoed through the forest, spotting a massive explosion in a not-so-distant part of the forest.

"…Whatever caused that, I'm not going near it." He decided, sitting down cross-legged at the foot of the pedestal to wait for the rest of his team.

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Ringtail was whistling a cheerful tune as he walked through the long grass, hands in his pockets. So far he had encountered only a single Ursa, which had been the reason for the massive explosion earlier. It may have been overkill by other people's definition but Ringtail was a firm believer that there was no such thing as too much explosives. His fight with the Ursa had been a while ago though and was beginning to get bored. Things tended to explode or go inexplicably missing when he got bored. He paused and scratched his head, wondering briefly if his usually infallible sense of direction had failed him. He suddenly sniffed, frowning as a strangely familiar scent greeted him.

"Okay. I know I've smelled that before, but where?" He muttered, sniffing again.

He didn't notice the large black shape moving towards him.

"Definitely an animal."

He seemed unaware of the large shape rising up behind him.

"Wait a minute, that's it." Ringtail's eyes opened, "…Snake."

The King Taijitu hissed as Ringtail turned to face it.

"Shit. Why did it have to be a snake?" He groaned, reaching inside his coat and pulling out a grenade, "I hate snakes."

The Grimm lunged at him, mouth open. At the last moment Ringtail pulled the pin on his grenade, dropped it then teleported away, leaving the grenade to be swallowed by the snake as he reappeared a few meters away.

"Fire in the hole." He commented, smirking. A split second later the Taijitu gave a massive spasm before collapsing, smoke pouring out of its mouth. Ringtail sniggered as he wandered up. "How do you like that?" He asked cockily, leaning close to the Grimm's maw, "Your insides are freakin' smoothie, motherfucker."

He suddenly froze, eyes widening as something occurred to him. "Wait a sec; don't King Taijitu's have two heads?"

A loud hiss to his left was all the warning the Faunus got before the white half of the snake Grimm swallowed him whole.

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The students all stared at the screen.

"Damn. There goes that guy." Yang murmured.

"But he seemed so nice." Ruby exclaimed, "Do you think he's really…" She seemed to choke on the last word, "Dead?"

Yang hugged her sister gently. "It looks that way."

"His teammates probably aren't going to take it well." Blake observed.

"The sickle guy will probably try to find the thing so he can kill it." Yang said.

"Something's happening!" Another student suddenly called out. Everybody turned back to the screen, even Ruby. They saw the white half of the Taijitu gagging, as if it was choking on something. Then its head exploded in a shower of gore. The now headless body flopped to the ground and seconds later Ringtail managed to extricate himself from its throat.

The Faunus turned back to the Grimm and just stared at it for a while. Finally he said, "I fucking hate snakes."

He then continued walking through the forest, doing his best to wipe the Grimm's fluids off of himself.

"…Well… That was… disgusting." Weiss commented.

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Aaron looked up from the meditation he had slipped into as he sensed another Aura approaching. It didn't take him long to spot Ringtail, who looked bedraggled and miserable, approaching him. Aaron raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking the Faunus over.

"A fucking snake ate me." Ringtail explained in a dull tone.

Now both of Aaron's eyebrows were raised. "It ate you?"

"I just said that."

"Yes, you did. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it."

The two sat in silence, eyes scanning the forest for any sign of movement.

"So, seen any of the others yet?" Ringtail finally asked.

"Nope."

"Guess we're partners then."

"Looks that way."

They lapsed into silence again but only briefly.

"Can I ask you something?" Ringtail asked.

"You just did."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Okay, what is it?"

"How old are you?"

Aaron glanced at him. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem too small for seventeen, so how old are you?"

"…I'm fifteen."

Ringtail gave a low whistle. "Wow. Didn't know they let them in so young. Nice to know there's someone junior to me though."

"Oh? How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Aaron nodded and the silence returned.

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Kulamin glanced between the two Ursa eyeing him and swore colourfully. It just had to be his luck that he walked through the clearing just as the two Grimm did the same. Now he would have to deal with them. While his shotgun could probably make short work of at least one of them he wasn't too keen on taking his eyes off of one to remove the other. Problematic.

Of course there was a way to deal with the situation that was incredibly entertaining and useful to him in the long run but it involved getting really up-close-and-personal with one of the Ursi and he was starting to see the flaws in that one.

"Fuck it." He muttered, setting his bundle on the ground and loosening the opening. However instead of taking anything out he sat next to the bag and closed his eyes, seeming to fall unconscious if his sudden slumping was any indication.

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"What the heck's he doing?! He's gonna get slaughtered if he just sits there!" Yang exclaimed, hands on her head.

"He must have some sort of plan but I can't see it." Blake observed.

"Wait. Is his bag… moving?" Ruby asked.

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Kulamin looked around and found himself staring at the cloth confines of his bag. He slowly pushed himself up and glanced to the side, spotting his own body slumped next to the bag, right where he had left it… him… whatever. He turned his gaze to the Ursi and if he had a mouth he would have smiled at them.

The puppet he was using stepped out of the bag fully, straightening to its full two-meter-plus height before reaching down and plucking the top hat off the boy's head and settling the garment on its own. Kulamin cocked his puppet's head at the Ursi, as if curious. Then it launched forward, fist drawn back.

The first strike hit the left Ursa in the jaw, the second slammed into its chest and the third hit its throat. But instead of landing a punch on the third strike, Kulamin had gotten a grip on a clump of fur and ripped it off with a mighty tug. The Ursa roared and swiped at its attacker but the puppet nimbly dodged and retreated back until it stood next to the bag it had emerged from. Then it simply crumpled to floor, Kulamin shooting upright with a gasp. He slowly stood and stretched out a kink in his back before saying, "Step one complete. Step two is a go."

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a doll modelled in the likeness of an Ursa. A small hole was visible on the dolls stomach.

"It's quite a good likeness, no? It takes time to make but it's worth it with abilities like mine." He plucked the Grimm fur from his puppet's hand and stuffed it into the doll's stomach, deftly sowing the gap closed with a needle taken from his hat. "You see, my mother taught me a very unique trick from a very young age."

He hung the doll on the belt on his chest. "…She taught me how to make voodoo dolls."

Suddenly the doll's head snapped up, the buttons in place of its eyes glowing with an ethereal green light. The Ursa that had had its fur taken roared and staggered, as if in great pain. This only lasted a few seconds before the Ursa fell silent and turned to look at Kulamin, its eyes glowing the same eerie green as the doll's eyes. Kulamin nodded to the other Ursa and said, "Kill."

The effect was instantaneous, the possessed Ursa rounding on its companion with incredible ferocity. It was over in moments, the possessed Ursa standing over its fellow Grimm's corpse. Kulamin calmly approached it, Soul Binder in hand.

"Look at me." He ordered and the Ursa complied. "Open wide." He commanded, a sadistic smile playing across his features. Once again the Ursa complied in absolute silence. It remained silent and still even as the skull painted boy inserted his weapon's barrel into its mouth. "There's a reason it's called Soul Binder." He murmured, before pulling the trigger. As the Grimm died, the same green energy from before seemed to flow from the Ursa to the doll on Kulamin's chest. When the energy flow finished the doll went limp, but only for a few seconds before it began flailing around and growling like it had a life of its own.

"Oh, shut up." Kulamin muttered, pulling it off of his belt and holding it up at eye level. The doll quietened but didn't stop squirming. The boy sighed and made his way back to his bag. He paused just in front of it before speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I expect you to treat our newest member with the respect they deserve." He said, seemingly to no one. Then a multitude of dolls emerged from the bundle. The dolls all varied, some were humanoid, others were Grimm and some were completely unidentifiable. One of the dolls made of dark cloth covered in zippers and with cloth wings on its back stepped forward. It emitted a high pitched babbling which Kulamin apparently understood perfectly. "Yes, the usual treatment for Grimms is best, I think. Good thinking, Zips."

The doll now identified as Zips gave another series of seemingly random noises before grabbing the new Ursa doll and dragging it into the bag, the rest of the dolls moving to follow it.

"Oi, take the puppet with you." Kulamin called, and half a dozen dolls immediately broke off and dragged the puppet into the bag with them. Kulamin hefted the bundle onto his shoulders and raised his shotgun.

"Now then, where's this abandoned temple Ms Goodwitch talked about?"

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"I'm worried about our teammates." Aaron said quietly.

Ringtail looked at him sidelong. The two hadn't said a word since their initial conversation.

"…What do you mean?" He finally asked.

"You heard them earlier. Neither seemed to care at the death of another, they were completely at ease. But there's one of them that I think really needs to have an eye kept on them at all times."

"Grenin, right? Yeah, he seems pretty freaky."

"…No."

"Huh?" Ringtail turned to his partner, now thoroughly confused.

"I'm talking about Kulamin Marioneta."

"Why? He seemed so nice."

"Did he? Remember Ringtail, he was just as unaffected by death as Grenin. And that's part of why he needs watching. We have no idea what he's really like or what he can do. And you're a prime example of why I'm watching him specifically."

"Wait, what? What did I do?"

"Exactly what was expected: You focused on the most obvious threat. You're so worried about what Grenin will do that you didn't even think about Kulamin. He's damn good, obviously used to manipulating those around him. That or he just got lucky with having Grenin around to take attention off of him." Ringtail opened his mouth to protest before Aaron cut him off, "Tell me, what do you actually know about him?"

"Well, his name, his weapon and… and…" Ringtail trailed off, as realisation settled in.

"…Exactly."

"H-hey! I don't know much about you either!"

"You still know more about me than you do about Kulamin and you've spent far more time with him." Ringtail deflated at that. "Remember this, Ringtail, a smile can hide a great deal."

Aaron's head suddenly snapped up. "Someone's coming."

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It had been a good hunt for Grenin. He had made his way in a steady zigzag path towards the temple and had encountered enough Grimm to finally sate his bloodlust. At least for now. He was currently dragging two Beowulf corpses with him, his sickles embedded in their backs and the chains in his hands. As he stepped out of the trees he noticed two figures waiting at the temple and smiled, glad that at least most of his new teammates seemed to have survived the forest.

He slowly trekked towards them, the bodies he was dragging slowing him down a bit. When he did arrive Aaron simply asked, "Why are you dragging two dead Beowulves around?"

Grenin glance at the bodies in question before looking back at Aaron and shrugging. "I honestly have no idea. I just got the urge."

"…Right. Moving on. Have you seen any sign of Kulamin?"

"Nope. Thought he'd be here before me to be honest."

Ringtail opened his mouth to throw his two lien in when he paused, head cocked and ears twitching. "Do you guys hear that?" He asked.

"Hear what?" Aaron asked.

Then they all heard a loud whoop of joy. Turning to investigate, they were greeted by a sight that would probably stay with them for the rest of their lives. There, just outside of the treeline, was Kulamin, who seemed to be riding a Beowulf like a rodeo bull. The puppet master had one hand on his hat to keep it on his head and the other gripping a clump of fur at the back of his unfortunate mount's neck. When he noticed the others he called out, the words occasionally interrupted by a particularly hard jolt from the Grimm beneath him, "Hey… guys! Wha… What's up?"

The others stared at him blankly until Grenin burst out laughing. "Ha! That's the most entertaining thing I've seen all day!" He gasped out between laughs.

"It _is_ pretty funny." Aaron observed, grinning at the scene.

"Aww, team bonding! Yay!" Ringtail joked, throwing an arm each around the shoulders of Grenin and Aaron. In perfect unison the two elbowed the Faunus in the gut. "And there goes the moment." Ringtail groaned.

"Well… we should… probably… get… moving… shouldn't… we?" Kulamin asked.

"Probably." Aaron replied.

"Gotcha." Kulamin called cheerfully before pulling out Soul Binder and aiming at the Grimm's head. "Nighty night."

As the now headless Grimm collapsed, Kulamin hopped off and approached his team. "So, what's the relic?"

Aaron simply pointed to the teddy bear. Grenin and Kulamin both stared at it for a few seconds before turning back to the martial artist to check if he was kidding.

"No, I am not joking." Aaron informed them, guessing their intentions perfectly.

"…I'm not sure whether to be amused or highly annoyed." Kualmin finally said, Grenin nodding in agreement.

"Both?" Grenin offered.

"Eh, not sure I could manage that."

"I do, but then my default state of mind is barely suppressed bloodlust so it might have something to do with that."

"That's comforting. Thank you for that." Aaron said sarcastically.

"Hey, I am who I am. I can no more change that than I can change the weather." Grenin waved dismissively. What sounded like a rumble of thunder was heard.

"You sure you can't change the weather?" Ringtail joked.

"Not anymore." Grenin answered, staring at his hand in fascination.

"Hang on. That's not thunder." Ringtail said, eyes widening, "There's some kind of big group heading our way."

"How do you know what that sounds like exactly?" Aaron asked.

"I've had to outrun a few mobs before. But what the hell is heading our way?"

The question answered itself as a veritable horde of Beowulves burst from the trees.

"Holy shit! What the hell?!" Kulamin yelled, staring in shock.

"Something must have seriously pissed them off to have drawn them here. Any ideas?" Aaron asked.

"I didn't even see any Beowulves." Ringtail said.

"Me neither. Hell, I didn't see any Grimm." Aaron growled.

"Maybe they all remembered you and ran away."

"Doubtful. Any that actually had the misfortune of meeting me died."

"…Okay then."

"The only Beowulf I met was the one I rode in on." Kulamin offered. The puppeteer was rummaging in his bag for something.

"That just leaves…" Aaron trailed off; realisation striking him at the same time it hit his teammates. All three turned to glare at Grenin, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Heh. Uhm. My bad?" He offered.

"How did you even manage to do this?" Ringtail asked.

"I might have tortured a Grimm so that it would call more that I could kill."

"If I die here, I'm going to haunt you." Aaron informed him.

"Good to know. How about we just focus on survival for now?" Grenin suggested, unsheathing his sickles.

"I have an idea." Kulamin called cheerfully from behind them.

"And that would be?" Aaron asked, turning to him.

Kulamin smiled at the approaching Grimm, a long chain of shotgun shells leading to the breach of his weapon. "Let me soften 'em up for you."

He flicked his shotgun to full auto.

"…We should get out of the way, shouldn't we?" Grenin said slowly.

"Yep."

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_About a minute later…_

Kulamin raised his smoking shotgun to the sky and smiled at the carnage he had wrought. Sixty seconds at five shells per second meant that he had released approximately 300 shots. Some had been ordinary 12-gauge buckshot, some had had Dust effects and there were even a fair number FRAG-12 shells in there. The result was the first couple ranks of Beowulves encountering a nearly solid wall of lead, pain and death.

It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

"…I'm not sure whether to be exhilarated that you're on our team or utterly terrified of you." Ringtail finally said.

"Both?" Grenin suggested.

"Yeah, sounds about right."

"Well, the stragglers are yours gentlemen." Kulamin called cheerfully.

"Great! I could use a release!" Grenin said, smiling. The smile faded when he turned around and discovered that the Beowulves were running away. He made to chase them but stopped when Aaron gripped his shoulder.

"Let 'em go. We've got what we came for."

Grenin sighed in disappointment but obediently sheathed his weapons on his back. "Fine. Let's get back to the idiots."

As they joined up with the others Grenin said, "I hope you guys haven't done anything embarrassing while you were in here. I mean, I'm certainly embarrassed by my little outburst with the Beowulf and the torture and all that shit."

"Why would we be embarrassed? Who's gonna know?" Ringtail asked.

"At a guess, pretty much everyone at Beacon."

"And just how would they know?" Aaron asked, folding his arms.

Grenin closed his eyes head cocked as if listening to something. He then slung his arms around his two closest companions, who happened to be Kulamin and Aaron, and said, "Smile for the camera gentlemen."

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Everyone in the hall stared at the screen in shock. It almost seemed like Grenin was staring right at them.

"How did he know where the camera was?" Yang asked.

"How did he know there were cameras in the first place?" Was Blake's response.

In his office, Ozpin frowned thoughtfully. "What are you up to, Osmjesi?"

**Finally! I finally finished this damn thing!**

**Read and review everybody.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	7. Chapter 7- Working Together

**Hiya, hiya, hiya. What's up? How you doing? Thanks for reading.**

**Guest: What disadvantage are you speaking of exactly? Aaron will be getting some action scenes this very chapter in fact, so there you go. I was aiming for Ringtail's to be funny. Grenin is psychopathic so he cares more about causing pain and spilling blood than actual efficiency in combat. And Kulamin… well, he's got a lot of depth. I don't quite understand what you mean when you talk about comprehending Grenin's actions though. Would you mind clearing that one up for me a bit? Kulamin's Semblance actually has even more to it than you think.**

**And now, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7- Working Together

"It's not funny!" Ringtail whined.

"Yes… yes it is." Kulamin gasped out between laughs.

"Trying to prank your brother only to dye yourself hot pink is very, _very_ funny." Aaron informed the Faunus between chuckles.

Grenin didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to breathe.

"It took a month to grow that shit out! A freaking _month_!" Ringtail yelled, hands in the air.

Grenin gave up the battle and simply collapsed, rolling around on the ground with tears of laughter going down his cheeks. He was soon joined by Kulamin while Aaron managed to remain standing, albeit bent over with his arms around his stomach. Ringtail scowled at them.

"Fuck you guys." He growled.

"Okay!" Kulamin yelled mock enthusiastically, bringing yet another wave of laughter.

"Sorry, you… you're not my… my type." Aaron gasped out, laughing even harder.

Grenin was pretty sure he was going to pass out soon from lack of oxygen. The newly created team KRAG had been trekking through the forest back towards their original launch spot. It had been fairly uneventful, with Grenin proving eager to deal with any Grimm that wandered within range of Ringtail's senses or Aaron's Aura sense. Each time the sickle wielder had returned with new bloodstains on his body and a happy smile behind his mask. They had recently decided to get to know each other a little better, a suggestion by Aaron of all people. Judging by his face Ringtail was starting to regret agreeing with the idea.

Eventually, the others had calmed down. Grenin and Kulamin slowly pushed themselves off the ground while Aaron straightened up.

"You done now? Or do you wanna laugh at me a bit more?" The Faunus asked his tone acid.

"Laughing sounds painful right now." Grenin offered, the occasional chuckle still escaping. The others nodded silently, amused grins still plastered across their faces. Ringtail looked between them suspiciously.

"Okay, since Ringtail's obviously unwilling to share anymore stories how about we try something else for bonding. How about we take turns asking each other things? And if you don't feel comfortable with the question you can pass but if you do that the person who asked gets another question. Sound good to everybody?" Aaron suggested.

"I dibs first!" Ringtail yelled before pointing right at Grenin and asking, "What's up with the mask? Why do you wear it?"

There was silence, Aaron and Kulamin turning to Team KRAG's fourth member with curiosity.

"I… I'm not really… okay with talking about that." Grenin said quietly. The others seemed disappointed. "However… I will tell you something else about myself to make up for that."

The others nodded, leaning closer expectantly. Grenin shifted slightly before saying, "You're not the only Faunus here, Ringtail. I'm one as well."

"…Serious?" Ringtail asked.

"Dead serious. I'm a shark Faunus."

"I didn't know there even _were_ shark Faunus." Kulamin commented.

"We're pretty rare, so I can't blame you. I can sense electrical currents through sensitive nerves in my jaw and I've got some mean teeth behind this mask of mine." Grenin explained, jerking a thumb at his mask.

"That's how you knew where those cameras were. You picked up their electrical current." Aaron guessed.

"Bingo."

"Oh crap!" Ringtail yelled, hands on his head.

"What's up with you?" Kulamin asked.

"I totally forgot about the cameras!"

"…So?" Kulamin asked, raising an eyebrow at the raccoon Faunus.

"So now everyone watching the feed heard that story he was telling earlier." Aaron said, smirking.

"So much for any form of good reputation you were hoping to build up." Grenin commented.

"Right, me next." Kulamin said.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to be the main target of these questions?" Grenin said, frowning behind his mask.

"Good intuition." Kulamin retorted cheerfully, "Though really my question is directed at everyone." Everyone looked at the puppet user expectantly. "Do you guys have any goals while you're here?"

Grenin was the first to answer saying, "I want to have killed at least one of every kind of Grimm by the time I leave here. That's my main goal."

"I… pass." Aaron said quietly, looking away.

"Ditto." Ringtail said with equal volume.

Kulamin and Grenin glanced uncertainly at one another. The four continued on in awkward silence until a loud screech was heard.

"That sounds like fun! Let's kill it!" Grenin yelled, cackling before shooting off in the direction the noise had come from.

Aaron sighed and said, "We should probably go after him."

"Why? He's been able to handle things so far." Ringtail commented.

"Because if my Aura sense is right about what that thing is Grenin will need our help. There's also the fact…" The others looked at the martial artist expectantly, "that Grenin is carrying the relic we need to pass this initiation."

There was pause.

"…FUCK!" Kulamin yelled and took off after his partner, the rest of his teammates in hot pursuit.

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"They really should have known better than to give the relic to the one most likely to get himself killed." Weiss commented caustically.

"Actually the fact that he can fight as many Grimm as he has and come back without a scratch proves that he's probably the best choice to defend the relic." Pyrrha observed, "However it probably would be better to give it to someone less… excitable."

"Oh that's not good." Yang said slowly. On screen Grenin had just located the source of the screech from earlier.

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Grenin laughed as he flipped away from the Deathstalker's claws. When he'd gotten to the clearing the scorpion Grimm had seemed almost shocked that he hadn't even paused and instead charged right at it. It snapped out of that when one of his sickles hit it in the eye. Now it was doing absolutely everything it could to kill him and he was loving every second of it.

He laughed and placed some distance between himself and his opponent when he spotted his teammates.

"Hey guys! Meet my new friend!" He yelled before bursting into another round of mad cackling.

"I think you need to review your criteria for 'Friend'." Aaron commented, deadpan.

"Nonsense! He's tons of fun!"

"Your definition of 'Fun' could use some review too, apparently." Kulamin quipped, eyeing the Deathstalker and slotting armour piercing and high explosive shells into Soul Binder's drum magazine.

"You guys are too judgemental. How do you expect to make friends with that kind of attitude?"

"Staying alive long enough to get to know people who won't try to kill me seems like a solid strategy." Aaron retorted.

"Hey! Here's an idea: let's maybe _kill the fucking thing before it eats us_!" Ringtail screamed at his teammates, lobbing a grenade at the Grimm.

"Right. I think I can put a nasty crack in its armour but I'll need an opening." Aaron said.

"Consider it done."Kulamin said before taking aim and firing rounds at the Grimm's head which were promptly blocked by a claw.

"I'll do what I can about its tail." Grenin began to run off but paused and turned back, awkwardly calling, "Guys?"

They looked at him.

"Don't die." And then the sickle wielder was off.

Kulamin chuckled. "Who'd have thought he had a soft spot for us already."

"I still think he'd kill us all without even flinching." Aaron commented.

"Yeah, I get that feeling too. Hope we don't share rooms." Kulamin called the last part back as he darted towards the Deathstalker.

Aaron sighed and shook his head. "…Why do I get all the crazies?"

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"Why do all the unstable ones have to come here?" Weiss grumbled.

"It'll be cool to finally see what that Aaron guy can do." Yang said.

"He must have something special up his sleeve to not even carry weapons." Blake commented.

"Don't be silly, Blake, he doesn't have any sleeves." Nora butted in.

Everybody ignored her comment and continued watching the unfolding fight.

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Team KRAG had decided on a simple strategy to deal with the Deathstalker. While Grenin had it repeatedly try to strike him with its tail, Kualmin and Ringtail each did their best to occupy a claw, Kulamin making use of his puppet to take risks that would otherwise be unthinkable. Aaron hung back and watched for his opening, his left hand gripping his right arm just below the shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a pattern: Just before the Deathstalker struck its tail pulled back a bit further leaving a tiny window of opportunity for what he had in mind.

"Guys! I see an opening! I need a boost into the air!" He yelled, already heading straight for the Grimm.

Kulamin's puppet immediately broke off and ran into Aaron's path before squatting and lacing its fingers together. Aaron grinned and flared his Aura, the white energy surrounding his arms. He placed a foot in the puppet's hands and was promptly launched into the sky. As he flew the Aura energy surrounding his left arm drained away into his right, the energy there growing brighter. He focused his attention on a spot right in the middle of the Deathstalker's back.

At that moment the Deathstalker took notice of the figure above it and realised that it was in imminent danger. It began to move out of the way, tail poised to strike at the figure as it landed. Unfortunately for the Grimm, Grenin noticed its intentions.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" He snarled, hurling one of his sickles and hooking it around the Grimm's tail. Seeing his intentions Kulamin directed his puppet over and gripped the chain with him. Together they hauled back on the chain, enough to catch the Grimm's attention and focus it on themselves. Which worked out fine because they needed it to move back towards them.

Aaron smiled viciously as he saw the Grimm move right where he wanted it. About half a second later he impacted, driving his glowing fist down onto the monster's back. The Aura in his fist increased the kinetic force tenfold and smashed the plates on the Deathstalker's back to pieces. Aaron immediately retreated, wincing as he held his arm.

"You okay?" Ringtail asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. That move just puts a lot of strain on my muscles and bones." Aaron explained, his arm glowing faintly as his Aura worked to repair the damage.

"Here, let me have a look. I'm trained as a medic and combat surgeon." Kulamin said as he approached them, his puppet slung over his shoulders.

"I'd ask why you were trained like that but something tells me I don't wanna know." Ringtail quipped.

"Hang on." Aaron said to the puppeteer before calling out, "Hey Grenin!"

"Yeah?"

"You said you wanted to kill every kind of Grimm, right?"

"Yeah." There was a look of anticipation in the sickle wielder's eyes as he realised where this conversation was going.

"Well, do you have Deathstalker yet?"

"No." There was a definite tone of excitement in Grenin's voice.

"Do you want it?"

"Hell yes!" Grenin yelled and charged straight at the dazed and injured Grimm. He easily dodged the sluggish claw strikes it sent his way and leapt atop it, darting towards the new hole in its armour. Upon arrival he immediately sliced away at the flesh beneath, creating an opening. As soon as that was done he sheathed his sickles and plunged his hands in, rooting around for something inside the Grimm. Apparently having found it, the boy braced himself and began to pull with all his might, the Deathstalker screeching and flailing as he did so. Finally, about five seconds later, there was the sickening sound of ripping flesh and Grenin held his prize up for all to see: the Deathstalker's heart, which gave a few last beats before going still as Grenin did a strange little victory dance. The heart was dripping blood on to the clearly joyful boy and he had blood completely covering his arms from to shoulder down. After a few seconds he tossed the heart away and moved to join his teammates.

"That was fun! Thanks for the kill Aaron." Grenin said.

"No problem." Aaron replied, leaning away from and clearly disturbed by Grenin. His move was mirrored by Ringtail, while Kulamin instead chose to pat his partner on the back.

Grenin glanced at Aaron and Ringtail in confusion before shrugging and saying, "Well, I think that's enough excitement for today. Let's get out of here."

"Oh thank God!" Ringtail exclaimed. They all chuckled at the obvious relief in the raccoon Faunus' voice as they turned and headed out of the forest.

**Okay, so, this happened.**

**Please tell me what you think. I really appreciate any and all feedback.**

**C'ya next time folks**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	8. Chapter 8- Ghost

**Heyo everybody!**

**Guest: This is the first time where the review has been truncated due to length in the email notification. Awesome. Can't wait until I get to show off Grenin's Semblance. I think you'll like it. Thinking about it, Ringtail's style is that of a rogue. Nice spotting. Aaron dies fit the unarmed monk fighter style. His backstory will explain why when I eventually get to it. Kulamin has trained for many years to be able to use his puppet like he does but it actually lacks a will of its own. He was actually controlling it while his real body remained away from the fighting in the last chapter. Sorry for any confusion there. His fighting style is rather varied and his abilities do fall under borderline mystical so I understand your comparisons. Kulamin's lack of reaction to Grenin's actions is explained quite soon, if not in this chapter then within the next few. Don't worry about not being able to Favourite this thing, I prefer Reviews over Favourites any day. Thanks for the praise. Trust me, your reviews are still a pick-me-up, so I think whatever enthusiasm you show is enough. Looking at things intellectually isn't always such a bad thing. And trust me; I also hope that the people reading this are more stable than Grenin. You are wholly welcome and thank you for taking the time to review this thing.**

**captinmet: I HAVE A SECOND REVIEWER! FUCK YEAH! Now that that's out of my system, here's my response to your review: I'm not so sure people would describe Grenin as lovable but okay.**

**Disclaimer: Death glares.**

Chapter 8- Ghost

All the students were gathered in the main hall to see the newest team being formally accepted into the school. The four in question were standing on the stage. Aaron was frowning slightly, arms folded as he examined the crowd staring at him and his teammates. Ringtail was looking around the hall curiously and gave a small wave when he recognised the girl who had delivered his acceptance letter. Kulamin's eyes were darting from person to person, hat tilted lower over them and a faint smirk on his face with his hands in his pockets. Grenin was openly examining the people in the hall with a look of glee, his smile growing wider beneath his mask as he saw a large number of people unable to look him in the eye. Him still having bloodstains all over his arms and torso might have had something to do with that.

Ozpin walked on stage and the various occupants of the hall all turned to him.

"As you are all undoubtedly aware we are here to welcome the newest members of the school. Kulamin Marioneta, Rinnigan Buamadoir, Aaron Koreutu and Grenin Osmjesi will form Team KRAG." Ozpin said calmly, ignoring Ringtail's scowl at the use of his real name, "Obviously they were named before their initiation and initially we believed that the best choice for leader was Mr Marioneta. However we have decided that the naming tradition will be forgone just this once. Team KRAG will be led by Aaron Koreutu."

Aaron's frown deepened but he bowed his head in acceptance of his new role, Ringtail patting his partner on the back in congratulations.

Ozpin turned to the new team and said, "You will be shown to your accomodations where you may rest and," His eyes lingered on Grenin, "wash up. Your lessons will begin in two days time, adequate time to settle in I hope. For now, everyone is dismissed." The last part was directed at the entire hall.

"Who's showing us the way?" Ringtail asked. Unfortunately Ozpin was already gone.

"…He seems to like leaving us hanging, doesn't he?" Grenin observed, getting silent nods of agreement from his fellow Faunus and partner.

"Why make me the leader?" Aaron murmured curiously.

Somebody cleared their throat behind the team and the four students turned to find the familiar figure of Professor Goodwitch.

"Goody! I've missed you!" Grenin called, giving off that shit eater vibe from earlier and arms wide open. Glynda's eye twitched but otherwise she kept herself under control.

"Follow me unless you'd like to sleep outside." Glynda said tersely before turning and walking away.

"Nothing wrong with sleeping outside. Fresh air's never killed anyone." Grenin commented as they all followed Goodwitch.

"Yeah but all those nocturnal Grimm do a pretty good job of compensating for that." Kulamin replied.

"True enough."

"First off, we will have to store your weapons in your lockers." Glynda called back to them.

"You are welcome to try and take my weapons from me, but I cannot guarantee your safety or that of anyone around me if you do." Grenin informed her calmly. Glynda stopped and gave him a hard look.

"You will obey the rules of this school just like every other student. Is that clear, Mr Osmjesi?"

Grenin's eyes turned cold and he walked right up to her. "I am not like the other students." He whispered, looking her dead in the eye.

A tense silence settled over the group as the two sized each other up. It was broken by Aaron gently but firmly pushing them away from each other.

"Miss Goodwitch, allow me to handle this if you don't mind." He said calmly before turning to Grenin and saying, "Grenin, I don't know why your weapons are so precious that you don't want to lose sight of them but I think it would be a gesture of good faith if you could let them be stored. If anything happens to them I swear on my honour that I will even help you track down whoever is responsible."

The sickle wielder shifted, mulling it over, before finally saying, "I'll hold you to that, Koreutu."

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"It seems a bit… cramped." Kulamin said, looking at their new accommodations.

"I know what you mean. After so long spent travelling, there just doesn't seem to be enough space." Grenin said.

"No, it's not that. I just would have liked a space to work in, you know. Make my dolls and maintain my puppet."

"I could use a workbench too." Ringtail commented.

"I'm pretty sure they have facilities we can use." Aaron suggested.

Kulamin raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, let's just work on what has been referred to as, and I quote, 'a complete disregard for the laws of nature and a perversion of God's domain' in a public area. That'll go down great." He said sarcastically.

"…Point taken."

"Well you can get rid of my bed. I'm happy to make my own arrangements. Hell, if you have the skill, convert the damn thing into a workbench." Grenin said dismissively, walking out of the room.

"But then where will you sleep?" Kulamin asked curiously.

Grenin didn't respond, continuing on his way.

The others watched him leave in silence.

"…Any ideas where he's going?" Ringtail finally asked.

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

"Should we be worried?" Ringtail asked cautiously.

Surprisingly Aaron shook his head and said, "Nah. If he was gonna rampage through the school I get the feeling he would have done it already. Besides, guys, remember the promise he made?"

"The one where he promised not to torture and or kill other students?" Kulamin asked.

"Yeah, that one. I think we can take him at his word."

"If you say so, boss." Ringtail said uncertainly.

"…Don't ever call me that again."

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Grenin strolled back into the dorm to find his teammates had indeed followed his suggestion and done away with his bed. Where it was now was a mystery but that didn't really matter. Aaron was the first to notice him and he frowned heavily at his teammate.

"Grenin?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have your sickles?"

"They're my sleeping arrangements."

"…Huh?"

Grenin walked over to a corner of the room and seemed to examine the ceiling for a few moments. Just as Ringtail was about to ask what he was doing, the sickle wielder jumped up and embedded one of his sickles in the roof. He then moved a little bit away and repeated the process. But it didn't end there. He then began to use the chains from the handles and somehow, none of them were entirely sure how, weaved himself a hammock with the sickles as anchor points. He scrambled into it, shifting to make it slightly more comfortable before he peered down at his teammates.

"…Well… that's one way to do things, I guess." Kulamin finally said.

Before anyone else could offer a response to the latest oddity in their sickle wielding teammate's actions there was a knock on the door. When he realised that everyone was look at him expectantly Aaron sighed and moved to the door. He opened it to find four girls outside their room; one in a red hood, one with snow white hair and a slightly disapproving look on her face, a blonde girl with a wide smile and… Aaron felt his thoughts grind to a halt as he spotted the girl behind all the others, his mind going back to a far darker time as memories he wished gone tried to surface. He shook the dark thoughts away and regained his composure enough to say, "Can I help you?"

The girl in the red hood said, "Hi. I'm Ruby. We live just down the hall and we thought we would introduce ourselves. This is Weiss, my sister Yang and Blake."

At that moment Grenin poked his head around the door, having become curious enough to leave his hammock and meet these newcomers. He felt a small feeling of sick pride when he saw the white and black haired ones immediately tense up at the sight of him, the black haired one regarding him warily while the white haired one glared at him. Come to think of it, the white haired one looked strangely familiar. He cocked his head, pondering it until it clicked a few seconds later.

"You're a Schnee, aren't you?" He asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "And why should that matter to _you_?" she asked, her voice full of hostility. Hostility which was completely ignored by Grenin.

"The White Fang tried to get me to kill you fifteen, no, wait… sixteen times. I sent their representatives home in body bags each time. Technically I saved your life." The sickle wielder said all this as casually as if he was talking about a book he had read.

The sickle wielder seemed lost in thought for a few seconds. He snapped out of it to find everyone staring at him.

"…What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why would someone try to hire you to kill someone else?" Aaron asked slowly.

"Isn't it obvious? He is, or was, an assassin." Kulamin called out from his bed.

"Right on the money, Marioneta. I was a killer for hire, emphasis on the 'was'. I'd left that occupation behind me long before the White Fang sought my services though. They really should have gotten the hint after the first three man team came back dead, especially with that note I pinned to the leader's chest. With a railroad spike." Grenin added the last part almost as an afterthought.

"…You are seriously, _seriously_ fucked up. You know that, right?" Aaron said, deadpan.

"Never claimed otherwise."

"Uh, yeah. Anyway, nice meeting you. Bye." Ruby said awkwardly before walking away quickly, Blake and Yang following her. Weiss hung back long enough to send another glare at Grenin, who arched an eyebrow.

"I give your glare about a three out of ten." He said, amused.

The heiress huffed and stalked after her team.

"…Is the Schnee gone?" Ringtail asked, his voice oddly strained.

"Yep."

"Good. I'm gonna catch some shuteye. G'night guys." Without waiting for a reply the brown haired Faunus rolled over and closed his eyes.

"…What's up with him?" Kulaimn asked curiously.

"No idea." Aaron replied, frowning.

Grenin shrugged as he wandered back to his hammock. "He's probably got his own reasons. It's not our place to pry into each other's pasts. We may be a team but we have only known each other for less than a day."

"That's… surprisingly observant and understanding, Grenin." Kulamin observed.

"Knowing how people work and being aware of what's going on is the only way to survive in a game of killers." Grenin replied easily.

"Fair point."

Aaron sighed. "I guess you're right, Grenin."

"Of course I am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep. Nighty night." With that the sickle wielder closed his eyes and proceeded to drift off almost instantly.

"I think I'll follow his lead right about now." Kulamin observed, smothering a yawn.

"I'm going to stay up a bit. You know, actually shower and brush teeth and the things _normal people_ do before bed." Aarpn retorted.

Kulamin chuckled. "We're not normal, Aaron. I though a perceptive guy like you would've realised that by now."

Aaron shook his head, sighing again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Goodnight, Kulamin."

"Night, Aaron."

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"You called, sir." Glynda said, stepping into Ozpin's office.

"I did indeed, Glynda. I want your opinion on our newest students." The headmaster replied.

"I do not think Mr Osmjesi should be allowed to remain here." Glynda said instantly.

"I see. However, I believe it would be best to keep him here, rather than let him loose on the world again." Ozpin retorted calmly.

Goodwitch's lips tightened into a thin line but she nodded. "I understand."

"That being said, I would like a psychiatric profile to be done on each of them. Bring them in and do a work up on them one at a time, see what you can learn about them. I'll arrange the sessions as soon as I am done entering them into the system." His computer beeped. "Ah, there we…" The headmaster trailed off, brows furrowing in confusion.

"What is it?" Glynda asked, leaning over to see what had troubled her colleague.

Ozpin turned the screen towards her and asked, "Glynda, what do you see here?"

"…Nothing."

"Exactly. This is what I got from looking for Mr Osmjesi's records."

Glynda frowned. "But that's impossible. Everyone has some sort of record. There's not even a birth certificate?"

"No."

"But that can only mean that either he was never registered, or…"

"Or someone wiped him off of all electronic databases." Ozpin finished, "It appears that we have a ghost in our school."

**Dun dun DUN. Why doesn't Grenin have records? What will Ozpin and Glynda do now? Why am I asking you questions you obviously won't be able to answer?**

**Read and REVIEW, peoples. I love reviews and all feedback is logged and appreciated.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	9. Chapter 9- Behind the Smiles

**Hey, I'm finally back. Well, I am really sorry for the long wait but my computer had a break down and one coach at school decided to have mandatory holiday practices until the 23rd of December. Yippee. Kill me now. But I literally only got my computer back like two days ago, so yeah. Also, they cut off the power in my suburb for **_**15 fucking hours!**_

**On an unrelated note, I need some help. I'm looking for someone willing to let me bounce ideas off of them, because all of the people I can usually rely on for feedback know, well, nothing about the RWBY fandom. So, yeah, I need you guys to give me a hand. If you're interested, drop me a review saying so or send me a PM.**

**Okay, Reply time now.**

**Guest: Now I'm curious what sort of hypotheses you can come up with. All will be explained in due time as to how Grenin did what he did. As for info, well, Grenin's is obvious. I did some thinking and I actually like your idea of the semi-independent puppet in combat. I'm going to make use of that later. Thanks for the idea.**

**captinmet: Well, as I said to Guest Grenin's methods will be explained. Until then just sit tight.**

**Disclaimer: Grenin's gonna get you…**

Chapter 9- Behind the Smiles…

Aaron slowly pushed himself up, eyes automatically taking in his surroundings. Kulamin was asleep, on top of his covers and with his hat over his face, off to the right. In the nearby corner Grenin's arm was visible over the edge of his hammock and off to the left of the martial artist was Ringtail, his covers in disarray and the Faunus sprawled over the bed. He chose that moment to give a quiet snore and shift slightly before falling still once more. Aaron slowly slipped out of bed and padded to his dresser to retrieve his outfit for the day. After that he made his way towards the door, intent on completing his morning routine of exercises before everyone else was up.

"…Where ya going? Sun's not even up yet." Grenin asked quietly, watching his leader with curiosity.

"Oh, hey Grenin. Didn't mean to wake you." Aaron greeted, equally quiet.

"You didn't. I've been awake for about ten minutes. So, where you off to?"

"Just gonna get some exercises done. It's a routine of mine." Aaron explained with a shrug.

"Mind if I tag along for a little bit? I'm not gonna get anymore sleep than I already have anyway." Grenin rolled out of his hammock and landed on his feet with a muted thump.

Aaron shrugged. "Sure, I could use some company."

The two quietly slipped out of the dorm, making their way down the corridor. A few minutes after the duo had left Kulamin lifted his hat and sat up, listening out for either of them returning. When he was satisfied that neither was coming back he stood and made his way over to his remaining teammate, who remained asleep and entirely unaware of the cold, analysing gaze of the puppeteer. Kulamin, for his part, just stood silently by the Faunus' bedside for a long time, simply watching him. When he did finally speak his voice was barely a whisper, a wry smirk spreading across his features.

"…How very intriguing."

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"Ugh, is this really what we have to wear?" Grenin said distastefully, eyeing the uniform in front of him. His own clothes were clean. He had disappeared soon after heading outside with Aaron and returned as Aaron was heading back to the dorm, clothes clean if slightly damp.

"Apparently yes. Don't worry Grenin, we won't have to wear it until our lessons start." Aaron said calmly.

"Well that's something at least."

"I hope they don't expect me to lose the hat, 'cause there is a snowball's chance in hell of that happening." Kulamin commented, lying on his bed.

"Ditto for my gloves." Ringtail called. The Faunus was sitting cross legged on his bed, various components for explosives arrayed on the covers in front of him and a thoughtful expression on his face as he picked a few up and began assembling them. "Now, should I go with C4 or nitro-glycerine? Maybe some Dust? Lightning? Nah. Fire? Done that. Ice?" He nodded. "Ice."

"Can you please not play with explosives in our dorm, Ringtail, it's really unsettling." Aaron said.

"We're living with a self-proclaimed practitioner of voodoo and an ex-assassin who is violently homicidal and you find _my_ actions disturbing?" Ringtail arched an eyebrow at his partner.

"…The sad thing is that I do. Take the explosives somewhere else. That's not a request."

Ringtail huffed. "Fine." He grumbled, packing away his tools.

They all looked up as a knock sounded on the door.

"I got it." Grenin said, a wide shit eater smile across his features as he recognised the electrical signature on the other side of the door. He flung it open, cheerfully saying, "Goody! I missed you."

Glynda remained as unamused as ever. "You are to come with me for a mandatory psychological evaluation, Mr Osmjesi." She glanced at the other members of KRAG and said, "I will be back throughout the day to collect each of you for your own sessions. Come with me Osmjesi."

Grenin arched an eyebrow but shrugged and followed the professor. His teammates watched the pair with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"…Anyone else get the feeling we're the only one who had to have psyche evals when they got here?" Kulamin asked.

"I hear ya. Somethin's up." Ringtail agreed.

"Amen." Aaron commented, before shutting the door.

Back with Grenin and Goodwitch Glynda was going over what she had been told earlier that morning, specifically what had been revealed about the boy next to her.

_Time for a FLASHBACK_

"_Ah, Glynda, come in." Ozpin called._

"_Is there something you wish to discuss?" Goodwitch asked calmly, strolling to his desk._

"_I would like you to make an effort to do all of KRAG's psychological profiles ASAP, starting with Grenin Osmjesi then moving one to Mr Marioneta, Mr Buamadoir and Mr Koreutu, in that order."_

_Goodwitch frowned and asked, "Is there any particular reason for the haste, or the specific order?"_

"_Some slightly… unofficial sources have yielded information that I find most troubling. And further digging with regards to the other members of that team has yielded interesting results. As far as I can tell the only ones who do not have some kind of mistruth in their available documents are Mr Koreutu and Mr Marioneta, and most of their documents do not exist in a digital format as it is." Ozpin seemed troubled by whatever he had found._

"_What did you find out?" Glynda was curious now._

_The headmaster took a deep breath before he replied. "It appears that Grenin Osmjesi is a former Black Brotherhood assassin, operating under the name of Death's Smile."_

_Glynda was silent, stunned by the revelation. Finally, after a minute she said, "I thought they were gone, wiped out."_

"_They _are_ gone and they were wiped out and it seems that Mr Osmjesi was the one responsible for doing so."_

"…_How? Why?"_

"_Apparently he began to ask uncomfortable questions."_

"_What sort of questions?"_

"_The sort that makes the Brotherhood put a three million Lien price on your head. They sent their own assassins after him and by that point he had made a few enemies who also hired assassins to go after him. Every single one of them died. Then he moved on to the people who sent them. Over the course of three months, he hunted down and killed the entire leadership of the Black Brotherhood and a large portion of its members, his former comrades. He even found out who had hired the independent assassins and killed them too. Then he just… disappeared. Nobody heard anything about him for over a year."_

"_Until he arrived at our gates and told us one of our newest students was dead." Glynda supplied._

_Ozpin nodded. "Indeed."_

"_Knowing this, are you still certain it is safe to allow him to remain here?" Glynda demanded, hands on the headmaster's desk._

"_That is why you are doing this evaluation. I want to know if he poses a risk to our students." The two stayed locked in a staring match for a few long minutes, Ozpin's calm gaze meeting Glynda's determined glare. Eventually Ozpin said, "If that is all, Glynda, I will expect your report with all due haste."_

"…_Very well." Glynda turned and stalked towards the door._

"_And Glynda, one more thing." Ozpin called out. When she turned back to him, Ozpin said, "I want a fair and unbiased report. I trust you not to let your personal dislike of any of them cloud your judgment."_

"…_Of course."_

_FLASHBACK OVER_

This would be an interesting talk… but she would keep her weapon with her at all times and make sure he remained in her line of sight. Being cautious hadn't killed anyone she knew.

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The second day since the initiation of team KRAG was coming to an end. Glynda had collected each of KRAG for a session over the two days, her sanity not being able to stand up after back-to-back sessions with Osmjesi and Marioneta, and was now on her way to give her report to Ozpin.

"Ah, Glynda, come in. What have you found out about our newest charges?" Ozpin asked calmly.

"Frustratingly little. Osmjesi spent the entire session either dodging my questions or singing in a foreign language, Marioneta informed me that he knew the textbook response to every official psychology question and told me a story about how he convinced three psychologists that he had a different mental condition for each and then watched them argue for an hour as to who was right and Buamadoir made no bones of the fact that he wouldn't answer certain questions. The only one who seemed to take the whole thing seriously was Koreutu." Glynda sounded exasperated.

"Did you try everything you could to get answers?"

"I did. I have recordings from various points in our sessions. Here is one from Osmjesi's. It's the song he was singing over and over." Glynda activated a sound file on her scroll.

"_iNSaNiTY _

_Fusou shisou desu _

_PSYCHoPaTHY _

_Nonki na jinsei _

_iNSaNiTY _

_Owarenai madoi _

_CaPTiViTY _

_Nigerarenai _

_iNSaNiTY _

_Fusou shisou desu _

_PSYCHoPaTHY _

_Nonki na jinsei _

_iNSaNiTY _

_Owarenai madoi _

_CaPTiViTY _

_Odaku ga tsudzukesou _

_Mitsuketa saigo kiesatte yuku _

_Kuro ni nijinde AUTORAIN _

_Makkura yami ni hikari nado nai _

_Kyouki no oku kara, sayounara"_

"Interesting." Ozpin murmured.

"And here is something interesting from Kulamin Marioneta's session."

Kulamin's voice and accent were unmistakeable as he spoke, _"Let me establish something, I know the answers to diagnose me with any of well over a dozen disorders. I can play myself off as a compulsive liar, a nymphomaniac, whatever I please. Your textbook won't work on me."_

Glynda's voice sounded, _"And what exactly is the point of establishing this?"_

"_Miss Goodwitch, there is nothing and no one I can't fool. That is what I'm trying to establish."_

"_Then perhaps I will have to try a more… unofficial method of questioning."_

"_Save it, I'll tell you what you want to know. To a point, anyway. Gotta keep a few things to myself, how else can I keep the ladies interested. And I'm pretty sure you're not actually allowed to force such information out of me."_

Glynda stopped the recording there. Ozpin thought for a few moments before saying, "He's either very good and knows it, or he's overconfident. Intuition tells me it's the former."

"I agree. There is something else of note form Osmjesi's session that I thought would interest you."

"Indeed?"

"There was one subject he didn't avoid talking about; his days as an assassin, specifically his time with the Black Brotherhood."

"He was willing to discuss a past that most would stigmatise him for? Mr Osmjesi proves more interesting the longer we look into him."

"Here's some information that I was wondering about since you told me about his previous occupation."

"_Why would the Brotherhood recruit you, of all people? You're not exactly subtle."_ Goodwitch's voice asked.

"_Correct. However, people change. I'm sure psychologists could have a field day with me and my myriad of issues and go on about my lack of control being a subconscious attempt to distance myself from my dark past and all but, quite frankly, they'd be wasting air. The reason I was more precise back then was because precision paid. And as long as I gave myself something to focus on besides blood and death, it was easier to keep myself in check. Now, I have enough money and cutting loose is a lot more fun and better for my health than bottling up all the bloodlust and anger. I hear that gives you tumours and stuff, y'know?"_

"So, he was precise as a method of forcing control on himself. Perhaps he is not a mindless killer that some would believe him to be." Ozpin commented.

"There was one final thing that caught my interest. Something he said right at the end."

"_I am a monster, Ms Goodwitch. When I die everything I know will die with me. No one will mourn my passing, no one will care. No one mourns the wicked or the damned." _The last part was quiet, as if the boy had only whispered it for himelf.

"…Could he possibly regret his past?" Ozpin suggested.

"No. He has shown no shame or remorse for his lack of control or his kills. If anything he seemed to enjoy recounting his exploits, as if he was proud."

Ozpin sighed before saying, "Mr Osmjesi is proving quite the enigma. Is there anything of note with his companions?"

"Apparently we have not even seen the full extent of Kulamin Marioneta's skills or Semblance. He claims that what we have seen are his most basic skills, ones that he has known since he was a child."

"Then I suppose we have something to look forward to. The others?"

"Ringtail Buamadoir was officially diagnosed as a kleptomaniac three years ago and has documents to prove it. He's also a demolitions prodigy, able to craft an explosive device form anything, anywhere, anytime. At least, that is what he claims."

"Be sure to keep potentially hazardous or unstable substances far away from him except in the reinforced workstations."

"I've already given the necessary instructions to the staff."

"Excellent work, as per usual, Glynda. What did you find out about Aaron Koreutu?"

"He was raised in almost complete isolation from his peers, a tradition of his family. They have carried out the… duty of defending their home for generations. Apparently it goes against everything they stand for a future protector to up and leave like he did. The guardians may only leave when they have trained a new one to replace them, and even then almost none have ever done so."

"Do you have any idea what could have caused such an act of open rebellion?"

"There were certain factors I picked up on but I feel that I am missing some key part of it all. One of his reasons was because he felt the old ways weren't working. He believed the villagers they protected had become complacent and too reliant on his family. He thought they should be taught to fight."

"A worthy idea."

"Indeed." Glynda agreed, "Another reason was his grandfather, the man who gave him his recommendation. His grandfather was the first guardian to leave the village in a long, long time. It would seem he was almost entirely responsible for raising and training the boy, which would explain the level of love displayed by Mr Koreutu for the man and the level of influence."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. After a while he said, "So, we have loneliness, idealism, a rebellious grandparent and any number of other unknown factors in Mr Koreutu's decision to join us. Combined with the other members of his team, this could prove to be a very interesting year. Keep a close eye on all of them Glynda. We will need to make sure that they avoid too much trouble."

Glynda's scroll beeped and she checked the new message, sighing as she finished.

"Bad news?" Ozpin inquired sympathetically.

"We may be a little too late to avoid trouble. Aaron Koreutu just assaulted Cardin Winchester in the cafeteria and Grenin Osmjesi is threatening to do horrible things to the rest of team CRDL with steak knives." Glynda informed him tiredly.

Ozpin sighed as well when he heard that. "I suppose we should intervene. Come along, Glynda, we have to make sure Mr Osmjesi doesn't earn another kill for his record."

"Of course."

The two left their office and just moments after the door closed Ringtail dropped down form the cogs and gears above.

"Heh heh, suckers." He turned to the computer and cracked his knuckles, rolling his neck from side to side as he approached and laid his hands on the keyboard. "Now, let's see what you dug up on little old me, Ozpin."

**So how as that, everyone? Worth the wait? A disappointment? Levae reviews and damn well tell me. And if you even think of flaming, I will set Grenin on you.**

**Ciao for now,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	10. Chapter 10- A Fixed Grin

**Heyo!**

**Guest: I would welcome your assistance and the unpredictability is nothing to worry about. What do you mean CRDL's actions deserve more than they got? Distraction? What distraction? Cardin just managed to do something he immediately regretted, which was piss off one Aaron Koreutu. All will be explained in this chapter. Kulamin is a fun character to write with though. It's fun to just cut loose and do crazy shit with my OCs sometimes. Please tell me what you think of Grenin's Semblance. I was trying to decide what it would be for ages, having initially thought of multiple different ones but this one was what I finally settled on.**

**Disclaimer: Scars**

Chapter 10- A Fixed Grin

"…I'm bored." Grenin whined, twisting in his hammock to see his teammates. Or at least the two that remained. Ringtail had disappeared over an hour ago and had yet to return.

"For the millionth time, if you're so damn bored go do something." Aaron growled irritably.

"But all the Grimm keep running away when I try to fight them and I'm not allowed to maim the other students." Grenin whined, even louder than before.

There was a pause, Aaron giving his teammate a strange look and saying, "That is… the first time I have ever heard someone complain about Grimm leaving them alone. Huh." Then he went back to the book he was reading. Grenin huffed, having hoped for a better reaction from the martial artist. Unfortunately for Grenin, Aaron had already become used to the sickle wielder's often shocking or, on occasion, downright provocative speech.

Before the bored Faunus could think of anything else to entertain himself a loud growl was heard, its origin being Kulamin's stomach.

"Heh, anyone else hungry?" Kulamin asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sure, I could grab a bite." Aaron shrugged.

"Nothing better to do. Let's roll." Grenin answered, also shrugging.

"Hang on, lemme see if Ringtail is interested." Aaron said, pulling out his Scroll. He called his partner and after a few rings their absent teammate answered.

"Hey Aaron. What's up?"

"We were gonna grab some food. Interested?"

"Nah, I got something I need to do. I'll catch up later if that's okay."

"No problem. See you later, Ringtail."

"Ciao."

"Well, more food for us I guess." Grenin commented.

"This is a school, Gren. They probably have more than enough food." Kulamin replied.

"How do you know I don't have a monstrous appetite to go with my personality?"

"You would have been complaining about hunger instead of boredom." Kulamin retorted.

"Touché."

"Can we go now? Or do you two wanna keep arguing like a married couple?" Aaron asked dryly.

"Oh Grenin, he figured us out. Our love is too great to hide." Kulamin cried melodramatically. The sickle wielder and the puppeteer promptly dissolved into fits of laughter.

"You two are idiots, you know that right?" Aaron commented dryly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go." Kulamin replied.

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Ringtail slid his Scroll back into his coat pocket and looked up at the building in front of him. The massive tower was apparently where Professor Ozpin had his office and the little thief wanted to know a few things that only the headmaster would know.

He wriggled his fingers before holding his hands up in front of his face. The slits at the ends of each finger on the thick brown gloves he wore almost invisible, nearly impossible to spot if you weren't looking for them. He smirked and flexed a muscle few others had, his retractable claws sliding out and passing straight through the gap in the material. He rolled his neck from side to side as he approached the tower's base, eyes tracking his intended route of its surface. With a slight grunt of exertion he jumped up, digging his claws into his first handhold. Then he began to climb.

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The rest of team KRAG had just received their food and were now searching for seating arrangements. As soon as they had walked in the people closest to the door had fallen silent before resuming talking in hushed whispers, shooting the occasional glance at the newest team. The bulk of the looks had, predictably, been aimed at Grenin. They had all ignored it as best they could but now they were faced with a simple problem: It seemed that nobody wanted them nearby.

It was understandable, really. All these students had seen of Grenin was his raw bloodlust and brutality, with the occasional snippets of normal. And even that was only Grenin's standard of normal.

The trio were making their way down the rows when Aaron abruptly froze, his teammates nearly walking right into him.

"Woah, Aaron, warn us next time you're gonna do that." Kulamin said, frowning at his leader. Aaron didn't reply. The martial artist was staring ahead at something, a white knuckled grip on his tray betraying the anger he was feeling.

"Uh, you okay?" Kulamin asked slowly.

Suddenly Aaron spun and shoved his tray towards the puppeteer. "Hold this."

Kulamin instinctively took it and balanced the tray in one hand as Aaron began stalking off.

"What's eating him?" He wondered curiously.

"Probably that." Grenin pointed out a group further down, a large boy pulling on a rabbit Faunus' ears while three boys, probably his teammates, cheered him on and laughed. Aaron was making a beeline for them, white Aura energy already gathering on his arms. Kulamin glanced at his partner and found the sickle wielder giving him a hopeful look, glancing meaningfully between his tray and his partner.

"…No hands."

Grenin glanced at the flat top of Kulamin's hat. The puppeteer glared at him. "No."

"…Please?" Grenin whined, hopping from foot to foot.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

Kulamin sighed irritably. "Fine!"

"Yay!" Grenin balanced his tray on the hat, before snatching the steak knives from all three trays. The partners turned to the fight just in time to see Aaron jump over a table and fly kick the main bully over the opposite table. The other bullies seemed frozen in shock, so the martial artist turned to the victim.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"…I…I'm…fine."

"Good. Now excuse me while I deal with the rest of these idiots."

There was sudden yelp of fear from behind him and he turned to find one of his targets scrambling off the table, a thrown steak knife having embedded itself an inch from his hand as he tried to sneak up on Aaron.

"You're welcome." Grenin informed him, strolling up to his leader with a knife in each hand.

"Thanks."

"So, whose idea was it to pick on this girl? Because I am going to hurt them quite badly. " Grenin's voice had turned deadly by the end of his sentence, the sickle wielder deftly spinning the blades in his hands. The rest of CRDL glanced at one another nervously before returning their gaze two the sickle wielder. Grenin slowly drew his arm back to throw one of his knives at them when Aaron spoke.

"Don't hit anything vital, Grenin."

"Roger, boss."

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While his teammates were busy threatening the bullies, Kulamin was continuing to search for a place to sit. He still had the trays and was currently drawing strange looks for the one balanced on his head.

"Wait a minute. Why am _I_ carrying these?" He suddenly said before he clicked his tongue twice. Zips promptly emerged from the puppeteer's backpack and hovered in front of his maker's face. "Grab one of the others with wings and carry a tray each, okay?"

The doll saluted before returning to the bag, emerging a second later with another doll. The second doll was made of cream coloured cloth. There were several small speakers visible on its body and another in its mouth.

"Hey, Feedback. Grab a tray." Kulamin greeted the doll.

The two dolls each took one tray, as ordered. Zips grabbed Aaron's tray while Feedback took Grenin's from on top of Kulamin's head. As they were doing that Kulamin kept looking for a place to sit and eat, spotting one just a few paces away. Smiling with satisfaction the puppeteer made a beeline for it, noting the blonde boy next to the empty space.

"Hola. Mind if I sit?" He asked cheerfully.

The boy started and said, "Uh, sure, I guess."

"Thank you kindly." Kulamin then clicked his tongue again and his dolls obediently set their burdens down on the table, Zips placing his opposite Kulamin due to lack of room. The puppeteer sat himself down and placed his hat on the table before raising his gaze and looking at the people nearby. When he saw the people who had introduced themselves as his neighbours just two days ago he smiled widely. "Why, hello again. Haven't seen you lot in a while. What's new?"

"Aside from your teammates threatening CRDL, not much." Yang replied, her voice oddly calm.

Kulamin nodded sagely before he suddenly stiffened and said, "Oh, how rude of me. I don't believe I ever actually introduced myself to you lot." He stood, giving a theatrical bow, and said, "Kulamin Marioneta, at your service."

"Yang." The blonde introduced herself. Before she could introduce her teammates Kulamin interrupted her.

"My apologies, but I was in the room when you introduced yourselves to Aaron and Grenin. I know your names, which was why it seemed so rude you did not know my own." He turned to take in the people sitting to his left and said, "However I do not know any of you. Care to share?"

"Jaune Arc." The boy introduced himself.

"A pleasure, I am sure."

"I'm Nora!" The red head called from further down, "And this is Ren."

Ren simply nodded to the puppeteer.

"Nice to meet you both."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

Kulamin's eyebrows rose. "_The_ Pyrrha Nikos? Four time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament? That Pyrrha Nikos?"

Pyrrha sighed and said, "Yes, that would be me."

Instead of acting like she had expected, Kulamin made a 'hm' noise and said, "Just a bit of warning, Grenin might challenge you to a duel just because he can. Thought you should know."

Then the puppeteer began eating. After a few mouthfuls he paused and looked up at Feedback and Zips. The darker doll was looking around curiously while the lighter simply sat and watched his creator.

"…You know you can go explore if you want, Zips. Just be back by midnight." The dark doll nodded before zipping off and out of sight. "And Feedback?"

The doll watched him expectantly.

"How 'bout some music?"

The doll nodded. Kulamin turned to teams RWBY and JNPR and asked, "Any requests? If he's heard it he can play it back."

"Do you really expect us to believe that… thing can play music?" Weiss asked sceptically.

"Feedback, play back the last fifteen seconds of the conversation." Kulamin said calmly, never taking his eyes off of the heiress.

The doll nodded, thumped its chest twice and then spoke in a perfect imitation of Weiss' voice, _"Do you really expect us to believe that… thing can play music?"_

Kulamin's voice came next. _"Feedback, play back the last fifteen seconds of the conversation."_

"I'd say that he can manage." Kulamin said, smirking.

"Ooh, can he do dubstep?" Yang asked, grinning.

The little doll nodded.

"Ooh, ooh! What about the mating call of a sloth?" Nora suddenly asked.

There was a pause, Feedback looking at his master uncertainly. Finally Kulamin asked, "Do sloths even have one?"

"Well of course they do."

"Nora, sit down." Ren urged his partner, giving the puppeteer a tired look.

Everyone swung around as a girlish scream of fear sounded and were treated to a rather unusual, not to mention unexpected, sight: Aaron, face red and set in a mask of fury, being restrained from attacking CRDL by Grenin, who seemed just as shocked as everyone else by the anger the normally collected boy was displaying. The sickle wielder currently had his thrashing and writhing leader trapped in a bear hug from behind.

"Well, well, well, I think things just got interesting." Kulamin commented, smiling faintly.

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Ringtail sighed in relief as he heard Ozpin and Glynda leave the room, having been hiding on one of the cogs for the last twenty minutes. He dropped to the floor, landing on his feet with a muted thump.

"Heh heh. Suckers."

He rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles before laying his hands down on the computer's keyboard.

"Now, let's see what you dug up on little old me, Ozpin." He frowned as the system asked for a password before digging through his pockets. Eventually he pulled out a small silver data drive that he'd swiped from his brother before he left. "Heh. Thank you, Maverick."

Plugging it in, the computer screen went dark for a second before lighting up again, now displaying the home screen.

"Piece. Of. Cake." Ringtail crowed before he began his search, speed-reading his way through the documents. He scowled as he read a note Ozpin had made on his records.

_Well put together but orphanage caretakers from that time period do not recall anyone who matches Rinnigan Buamadoir's psychological profile. Will require further digging._

"Damn." The boy muttered before continuing his search. After a fair length of time he stepped back, drumming his fingers on the desk as he thought over everything he had learned. He briefly toyed with the idea of looking up other people's files, specifically those of his teammates, but instinct was telling him he had already been there too long. He stood, plucking the data drive from the computer as he did so, and stepped back. He was about to teleport away when an idea occurred to him. He tried to dismiss it but it just wouldn't go away.

"Fuck it." He muttered, before reaching out and rearranging the objects on Ozpin's desk.

He snickered before teleporting away. Today had been fun.

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_Meanwhile, in the cafeteria…_

"Aaron, let it go! They're not worth the blood or the punishment! Let! It! GO!" Grenin snarled, desperately trying to restrain his leader.

"Let me GO! I'm gonna _kill them_!"

"That's exactly why I'm not!" Grenin retorted right before Aaron slammed his head back into the sickle wielder's face. Grenin dropped the martial artist, staggering and falling to a sitting position. While the metal of his mask had done a good job of protecting him from the worst of the blow it had still been enough to leave the sickle wielder reeling. Aaron seized his chance; as soon as his feet touched the ground he lunged at CRDL, fist drawn back and charged with Aura. Right before his fist made contact with Dove a purple shield sprang up and blocked the blow.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Goodwitch looked positively livid at the scene in front of her. Cardin hadn't risen since Aaron's initial attack. The rest of CRDL couldn't seem to decide who they should be more scared of, Glynda or Aaron. The martial artist was alternating his glare between his targets and the professor. Grenin sat on the floor, groaning and rubbing his face with his eyes closed. Velvet had been moving towards him to check if he was okay when Glynda had arrived and now stood frozen where she was, ears flattened and wide eyes darting from person to person.

Grenin became aware of something wet and warm on his fingers and pulled them away to find them covered in blood. It wasn't the first time such a thing had happened but it was unusual for it to be his own. Then a thought occurred to him; how had the blood got on his fingers if his mask covered most of his face? His eyes widened as he realised that the item must have been knocked off when Aaron head-butted him. He could feel himself beginning to hyperventilate, his eyes darting around to try and locate the familiar black metal of his trademark apparel. He spotted it right next to the rabbit Faunus' foot and sighed, partly in relief and partly in exasperation. Of course it had to go out of his immediate reach and land near someone else; that was just his luck.

He sighed, dropping his hand from his face and slowly pushing himself up. As he was doing so he felt strong arms help him and glanced up to find Kulamin supporting him, Feedback peering down from on top of his master's hat. The puppeteer's eyes widened fractionally when he looked his partner in the face, briefly morphing to understanding before settling into a carefully neutral expression. When Grenin was standing, and entirely sure that he wasn't going to simply collapse again, the two made their way up to Velvet, the sickle wielder still slightly leaning on his partner. Grenin leaned down and picked the mask, but refrained from putting it back on. There was no point; he could feel a few people's stares on him, could hear them whispering.

The reason for the stares and their accompanying whispers was the long, curved cuts going from the corners of Grenin's mouth to just below his ears, messy stitching overlapping them. Velvet spun when she realised someone was behind her, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening at the sight of the old wounds. Grenin didn't react in any way, instead approaching his leader from behind with a completely emotionless look on his face and in his eyes.

"Aaron." He whispered as he laid his hand on the martial artist's shoulder. Aaron swung towards him and as he did so Grenin laid his other hand on Aaron's forehead.

"…Sorry." Grenin whispered. He then channelled his own Semblance; bolts of electricity instantly springing up from his arms, racing down from his shoulders and slamming into Aaron. The martial artist's back arched, mouth going wide in a silent scream. The moment only lasted for a fraction of a second before Grenin stopped, catching his leader as the boy slumped. Grenin looked down at his unconscious leader and whispered so quietly that no one else could hear him "I won't let you stain your soul for them."

"Was that entirely necessary, Mr Osmjesi?" Glynda had one eyebrow arched disapprovingly at the sickle wielder.

Grenin ignored her, instead slinging his leader over his shoulder and making to walk right past her. Glynda made to stop him but was held back by Ozpin, who placed a hand on her shoulder. Grenin was clearly in an unstable state if he was willing to attack his own team and he saw no need to invite more violence where it wasn't necessary. Grenin quietly sung to himself as he walked.

"I will hide myself below  
>I'll be what you wanted<br>Kept inside I won't let go  
>'Till I burn beyond control<p>

Who are you to change this world?  
>Silly Boy!<br>No one needs to hear your words.  
>Let it go.<p>

Carnivore! Carnivore!  
>Won't you come digest me?<br>Take away everything I am.  
>Bring it to an end.<br>Make me fall. Make me bleed.  
>Go ahead and change me?<br>Take away everything I am.  
>Everything I am."<p>

There was absolute silence after he had left, which was promptly broken by Kulamin saying, "Well this is intriguing, no?"

A faint smirk graced the puppeteer's face and he had his hands jammed into his pockets. He began to walk out of the cafeteria, whistling a slow, haunting tune as he went. He paused by the headmaster and Goodwitch and said, "I'll keep an eye on them for you. Grenin going nuts won't be any fun for me and neither would anything happening to my new leader. Don't worry, I can handle them."

Without waiting for a reply the puppeteer left the room, still whistling. A minute later, Ringtail strolled in, took one look at the scene there and strolled right back out.

"Geez, who knew people could get so antsy about food." He muttered, glad that he had his own stash of food to tide him over until tomorrow.

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Hours later, Ringtail was sitting on the roof. He was toying with the Scroll he had been given by his brothers years ago, spinning it in his hand. He sighed and opened it, calling the contact at the top of his list. As soon as it confirmed a connection he spoke.

"We have a problem."

**Woo-hoo! It's done! Love it or hate it, leave a review and tell me.**

**See ya next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	11. Chapter 11- Share

**Woo Hoo! Two chapters in two days. I'm so proud.**

**Detert: Thank you for your praise.**

**Lone Wolf of Shadows: Glad to know that you hold my writing in such esteem. I'll try not to let you down.**

**Disclaimer: Stuff does not belong to me, and other stuff does. You can figure out which is which.**

Chapter 11- Share

"Ringtail, got a minute?" Kulamin called after the Faunus.

"If it's not another of those weird blood ritual things, then yeah." Ringtail replied dryly.

"Oh come on, you're not still mad about that are you?"

"You tried to use me as some kind of sacrifice to summon, and I quote, 'a demon of seventh plane of torment.'"

"I only needed a few drops of blood."

"You had me tied to a table."

"An important part of the ritual."

"And you had a very large knife."

"It was a ceremonial dagger."

"…There's no point in arguing with you, is there?"

"None whatsoever."

Ringtail sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Two things. One: Have you seen Grenin recently? He's been acting strange, well, stranger, since the incident in the cafeteria."

"Yeah, he's gotten pretty quiet lately. I actually am a bit worried. More for myself than anything else."

"Fair enough."

"So what's the second thing?"

Kulamin slung his arm around the Faunus' shoulders and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Why is your soul so stained with death?"

Ringtail went pale. "W-what are you talking about?"

The puppeteer moved so that he was looking his teammate in the eyes, keeping an almost painfully tight grip on the shorter boy's shoulders. His tone had lost any humour it may have had, a hardness entering in its place. "Don't fuck with me, Ringtail. I can see the stains Death leaves on a person's soul and yours is dark with his shadow. Why is that, hm?"

The Faunus bristled and snarled, "None of your goddamn business!"

The puppeteer seemed to consider this for a second before replying. His voice had a strange mixture of warmth and steel in it when he said, "Oh, but Ringtail, it is. You're my teammate, which means that if something happens to you it automatically becomes the business of me, Aaron and even Grenin. One for all and all for one and all that."

Ringtail simply glared at him and spat, "This one is mine, just mine."

Kulamin sighed and said, "Very well. But if you ever need to talk about it, I'll be there."

"Whatever." Ringtail shrugged Kulamin's hands off his shoulders and stalked off.

About a minute after the Faunus had left Kulamin slowly released the figurative death grip he had on his emotions, a shaky breath escaping him and his eyes going wide. He could accurately read and interpret death in a person's soul through physical contact and what he had sensed when he had his hands on Ringtail's shoulders had been enough to scare him. It had taken every ounce of his will power to suppress his fear while talking to Ringtail. He stared down at his hands, absently noting that they were shaking, and whispered in a voice filled with a mixture of awe and fear, "What in God's name are you, Ringtail Buamadoir?"

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"You've got your life laid out in front of you like a car crash.  
>Unconscious at the wheel cause you were driving too fast.<br>But if you took the time to check up in your rear-view mirror,  
>You'd see the things you're driving from are your biggest fears.<p>

You gotta get back up from the wreckage above and walk right through the fire.  
>No matter what happens, the fact is that the flames keep getting higher.<br>You gotta keep it going; keep tiptoeing through the fire and the flames and the pain of knowing.  
>That the world is dark, gotta keep on going, gotta give that spark, gotta keep on glowing.<p>

I wear my heart up on my sleeve so my soul's exposed.  
>And I carry this disease, the weight of the Holy Ghost.<br>God, can you hear me? God is missing."

Grenin had been quietly singing to himself for what must have been at least an hour. Combined with the time he had spent simply standing silently, he had been at the cliff overlooking the forest for the last three hours. He'd gone through his first week of classes at Beacon in a daze, barely aware of his surroundings. The whole time he had been thinking, replaying the events in the cafeteria over and over in his head. He'd heard everything that had happened which was a relief because he couldn't actually remember a portion of it. He remembered nearly having a panic attack at finding his mask gone, Kulamin helping him stand and then there was nothing. There was a blank spot in his memories where he had apparently used his Semblance against his leader. The thought sickened him to his core. He treasured the trust his team had been willing to place in him despite his background and the idea of destroying it as casually as he reportedly had left a tight sensation in his throat.

He had been avoiding his teammates for days, deflecting their inquiries with an instinctual ease, often coming to this cliff for hours on end. The view was only part of the reason; he wanted to be here in case another blackout hit him. The one in the cafeteria had not been his first in his life, just the first in a grand total of six years. It was also the first one that had not resulted in him waking up covered in the blood of several other people. He had hoped that he had seen the last of the unfortunate episodes. He was perplexed by the description of how he had acted in the time though. He had seen surveillance of himself during the previous blackouts and had been surprised by the sheer ferocity he had displayed. He had never seen evidence of the cold, brutal efficiency that had been described to him by his teammates.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" He whispered, "Why are these blackouts back? And what's with this new personality?"

He sighed, closing his eyes and savouring the cool wind on his face. He'd taken to not wearing his mask over the past couple of days. He figured that he'd attracted stares anyway and people had already seen the marks on his face, what was the harm in feeling a bit of sun on his face.

He turned his head slightly as he sensed an electrical signature approaching him. He briefly toyed with heading for the forest but curiosity as to who had wandered out here and disturbed him won out and he stayed put, waiting. He didn't bother trying to figure out who it was by the electrical signature, he would see them and he couldn't actually be bothered to do so.

He turned his head back to the view as the person emerged from the trees nearby, starting to sing again as if he was unaware of them.

"I see the children in the rain like the parade before the pain.  
>I see the love; I see the hate; I see this world that we can make!<br>I see the life I see the sky. Give it all to see you fly...  
>Yes, we wave this flag of hatred, but you're the ones who made it!<p>

Watch the beauty of all our lies passing right before my eyes.  
>I hear the hate in all your words all the wars to make us hurt<br>We get so sick, we're so sick; we never wanted all this  
>Medication for the kids with no reason to live!<p>

So we  
>March to the drums of the damned as we come<br>Watch it burn in the sun - we are numb!

We are young!  
>But we have heart<br>Born in this world as it all falls apart  
>We are strong<br>But we don't belong  
>Born in this world as it all falls apart"<p>

He stopped suddenly, slowly turning his head to indicate that he knew they were there. He arched an eyebrow, unseen by them, as he sensed them approach him rather than leave like he had expected. Turning back to the view he watched them out the corner of his eye, noting the dark hair and clothing. He turned his head once more to confirm his suspicions and found himself looking into the golden eyes of none other than Blake Belladonna. He gave her a courteous nod, which was returned, and the both of them stood in mutual silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Would you be so kind as to explain something to me, Miss Belladonna?" He finally asked.

"What is it?"

"What made you leave the White Fang?"

He could feel her shock in the sudden spike in her bioelectricity. "How did you-?"

"The Black Brotherhood kept tabs on everyone. Also, we've met. You probably don't remember it but I was sent to kill that annoyingly hard-to-kill partner of yours. What was his name again? Andy?"

"…Adam." Blake supplied quietly.

"That was it. It was that job that got me asking the questions that ended up getting a hit put on me. I saw how hard he fought when he thought I was there for you and I began to ask myself why someone so willing to protect could need to die. It surprised me no end since I had killed plenty of people before without even the hint of curiosity of conscience. In a way, you are responsible for my mostly sane state now. And for that, I thank you."

"…You're… welcome?" Blake offered uncertainly.

"Back to my original topic, why did you leave?"

"…It's complicated."

Grenin gave a short, humourless chuckle. "Isn't everything when it comes to pasts like ours?"

"I suppose so." She agreed.

The pair lapsed back into silence. It was a comfortable silence though, born of a shared desire to avoid thoughts of their pasts. Eventually Blake said, "You're team is worried about you. They hide it but it's there."

"I've told them I'm fine."

"And evidently they believe it about as much as I do."

Grenin went silent for a bit before giving another of those humourless laughs and saying, "I never was a very good liar. I guess I always relied on there being no one left to lie to."

"You should talk to them."

"You'll forgive me if I find that a tad hypocritical." He retorted, harsher than he had meant to. He sighed as he saw her tense up. An awkward silence reigned for what felt like an age before Grenin spoke up again. "I'm sorry. I didn't think before I said that. You were just trying to help and I snapped at you. I'm sorry."

"…Apology accepted."

The sickle wielder breathed a silent sigh of relief. And once again a comfortable silence reigned, broken only by the sighing of the wind. Finally, as the sun began to touch the horizon Blake turned and began to walk back towards Beacon.

"I have to go. Ruby's got this weird thing where she insists we play some board or card game with JNPR every Saturday evening."

"Sounds exhilarating." Grenin joked.

Blake shrugged. "It's alright, except Yang has a habit of flipping the table if she's about to lose."

Grenin chuckled. "I guess I'll see you around, Miss Belladonna."

"…It's just Blake."

"Very well… Blake."

"Grenin, you won't… tell anyone about, you know, me being a Faunus, right?" Blake seemed oddly hesitant.

"My lips are sealed."

"…Thank you."

"Thank you too."

"For what?"

"For keeping me company when I didn't even realise I needed it."

"…You're welcome."

"Goodnight Blake."

"Goodnight Grenin."

And with that the cat Faunus was gone, disappearing in the direction of Beacon. Grenin smiled at the fading light, savouring the colours in the sky. Eventually, as the sun finally slipped below the horizon he whispered, "A good night indeed."

**Well, got that out of the way. A bit more character development for Grenin and Ringtail. Tell me what you think folks.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


	12. Chapter 12- Pep Talk

**Heyo folks.**

**So I got a new record for reviews last chapter, so that's awesome. Now let's answer them.**

**Marmaduke: Good to hear.**

**Dj-Juju: I'm glad that you think so. And as for the ships… Well, those are my little secret. And honestly, I don't know. I had some ideas when I started but now I'm not so sure who I'm going to stick who with. So I can't really answer your question and even if I did know I'm sorry but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.**

**Lone Wolf of Shadows: I am now curious about that story you mentioned. Please send me the link. And I'm glad I didn't let you down with this chapter.**

**YuriSmirnoff: You have provided the longest review I have ever had, a record previously held by my ever-mysterious Guest reviewer. I'm always happy to hear feedback and your concerns regarding my story have been noted. I realise now that some of the things I wrote didn't convey the messages I wanted them to and have already planned segments to address some of the issues you pointed out. Kulamin was actually the first character I thought up and originally I had him on his own and minus some of the darker things he has now. Ringtail is actually a borrowed and modified OC I originally made for a completely different fandom. He can be stealthy if he wants to be, he just prefers the loud and direct approach to things. Your concerns with Aaron have been noted and I have a segment planned to address them. Grenin definitely has something up with him. I already had a bit planned to explain the remorseful side he had but thank you for your feedback on him. I think Grenin and Kulamin are my favourites too, if I'm honest. They just have such great potential for fun.**

**Guest: I said nothing about innocence on that boy's part… Grenin's morality (Wow, you're right, writing that does feel weird) is shady because that's what I aimed for. And Ringtail's past… Well, let's just say I'm really looking forward to writing it. It'll rock your world. You are quite welcome, and thank you for taking the time to leave me a review and tell me what you think.**

**Well that took longer than before. On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: **

Chapter 12- Pep Talk

Monday morning found team KRAG sat at their usual table in the cafeteria, which they had sat at since the first time they had eaten there. Teams RWBY and JNPR had seemed uncomfortable at first at the idea of the newest students being near them but had seemed to calm down enough to even include them in conversation on occasion. Or, at least, not react negatively when one of them responded to something. Grenin seemed distracted, absently making his way through the meal with his eyes fixed unseeingly on some point on the ceiling. Kulamin was bobbing his head to a beat played by Feedback, who was perched on his master's head. Aaron was picking at his food, obviously troubled by something. The only person who actually seemed to be paying attention to his surroundings was Ringtail, who was cheerfully regaling everyone around him with a story of a time when he had won a two hundred Lien bet by picking the pockets of twenty people in under four minutes.

"Buggers never saw me coming. They seemed awful mad when I tried to return their goods though. Had to outrun a _lot_ of cops. Good times." Ringtail concluded, smiling wistfully at the memory.

"Those people probably didn't like the idea of a vagrant handling their possessions." Weiss criticised, her tone scathing.

Ringtail immediately scowled at her. The Faunus had made no bones of the fact that he didn't like the heiress, though no one knew the exact reason why, and often went out of his way to avoid talking to her, sometimes even flat out ignoring her. But it seemed that this was one of the occasions he wouldn't simply shrug off her comments.

"I'll have you know that I had a legal address at that point and any one of those people could have found me if their description went beyond 'a damned Faunus.'" Ringtail retorted, eyes narrowing at the heiress.

"Well how do you expect them to describe a thief? Why should they care beyond the most obvious detail of him being a-" The heiress was cut off by a loud bang, the source of which was Aaron's hands connecting with the table.

The martial artist slowly pushed himself up and walked towards the heiress. He leaned down so that his face was level with hers and, in a voice filled with quiet threat, said, "I really hope the next word out of your mouth wasn't going to be 'Faunus', Miss Schnee. You see, in case you've suddenly gone blind, there are two Faunus at the table. In fact, you were just talking to one of them. I'm sure neither of them appreciates your tone or your insinuations about Faunus in general because I know that _I_ don't. The first friend I ever made was a Faunus and they were one of the sweetest people I ever knew, much more tolerant and accepting than, say, yourself." Weiss opened her mouth to protest that but Aaron continued without even pausing, "So let me make this abundantly clear for you. I don't care who you are related to. I don't care how big your family's company is. I don't care how rich you or your parents may be. I will not stand for you insulting my teammates, especially not so openly. If you have such negative opinions about them, then either keep them to yourself in conversation or say nothing at all." He leaned closer so that they were practically nose to nose. "I will not tolerate my teammates being shown such disrespect by _anyone_."

Then, without another word, Aaron returned to his seat. An awkward silence settled over the area until Ringtail asked, "You gonna eat that?"

Without looking at his partner, Aaron pushed his tray over to the Faunus, muttering, "I lost my appetite."

"Score." Ringtail crowed cheerfully, rubbing his hands together gleefully before digging into the food. He looked up suddenly and said, "Hey Aaron."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Thanks from me too." Grenin said, smiling at his leader.

"…No problem, guys." Aaron replied, smiling at them.

"Go, boss man, go." Kulamin said, already grinning at the reaction he knew was coming.

Aaron's smile vanished. "…Fuck you, Kulamin."

"And cue topic change. Ringtail, I've been thinking of training some of my dolls to carry explosives and even turning some of my expendable dolls into walking bombs. Got any tips for me?"

Ringtail ignored Kulamin, continuing to eat as if the boy hadn't even spoken. The thief had been positively frigid towards the puppeteer for days now, exchanging little to no words with him and what he did say was often the bare minimum he had to, such as asking to get past. No one had figured out why yet and attempts to ask the two resulted in Ringtail brushing them off and Kulamin claiming that it was between him and Ringtail. The other two, while curious, had stopped asking after being rebuffed multiple times.

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The day's classes were finished, much to the joy of many students. With dinner approaching and darkness encroaching on the sky, Aaron was alone on the rooftop, sat with his legs dangling over the edge and his elbows on his knees. He sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. He'd been wrestling with a few issues for a couple of days now and was no closer to his answers than before. He knew that Ringtail had noticed and was fairly sure Grenin and Kulamin had as well but he couldn't bring himself to tell them on his own and they hadn't enquired as to what was bothering him. He had hoped that a bit of fresh air would help him relax but instead he found himself in turmoil over the issues, with old and unpleasant memories surfacing.

"Hey Aaron."

The martial artist started and swung around to find Ringtail watching him curiously.

"…Hey Ringtail. What's up?"

"I think I should be asking _you_ that. You've been acting weird for days. What's eatin' ya, boss?"

"Seriously, Ringtail, just… stop with that name."

"Why? You're the leader, ergo you're the boss."

"But I shouldn't be!" Aaron's frustrations had boiled over. "I'm not meant for this, Ringtail. I don't want it."

Ringtail was quiet for a bit before asking, "So who would you have take your place, hm? Grenin?"

"No. Not Grenin. He's too… wild, too impulsive."

"Me?"

"No. You don't plan, you react to what goes on around you but you don't actually think ahead in a fight. You can follow, but you couldn't lead."

"Which leaves Kulamin."

"Who should have been leader. He can plan, he hangs back, he can analyse in a split second and he's got experience from commanding those living dolls of his." Aaron sighed and said, "_He_ should be leader, not me. I'm not meant for it."

"…You're right. Kulamin is smart, eloquent and, damn, that boy got charisma by the bucketful." The Faunus paused for a few seconds before saying, "But… I wouldn't follow him."

Aaron gave his partner a curious look. "Why?"

"…Kulamin is… There's just… something not quite right there. I can feel it when I'm around him. I ignored it at first but… now it's getting a little out of hand."

"What do you mean?"

"On that first day after we became a team, when you guys left the room, he was watching me when he thought I was asleep. Said that I was 'intriguing.' And then the other day he…"

"He what?"

"He brought up something that's very… painful for me. He could sense it in my Aura, some part not even you can detect. He basically interrogated me and… I just… can't follow someone willing to do that to their own teammate. As much as he talks all smooth and acts all charming, I just… can't follow someone who cares so little for the boundaries of his teammates. I get the feeling that he will dig and dig until he finds what he wants to know about us. And I don't want a leader like that. A leader should be able to respect others. And that's what you do, Aaron."

"…I don't have the right qualities, Ringtail. Can you think of even one occasion where I displayed anything approaching skill as a leader?"

"…Our initiation. With all those Beowulves."

"Kulamin saved us there, not me."

"It's not about saving all of us. When those Beowulves ran they actually hid in the trees, just out of sight. I could hear the running stop. They wanted us to follow them. When you stopped Grenin going after them you saved his life."

"And how does that prove leadership, Ringtail? I didn't know they were there."

"No, you didn't. But you stopped Grenin with a single word. You saw it in his eyes, didn't you? The bloodlust, the need to kill. You made him stand down with a single word. Deep down, even in that state, Grenin followed your orders." There was a pause. "Aaron. I don't have the answers as to why you were made leader. The only one who could answer that is Ozpin. But I'll follow you, whether you want to be leader or not. So it's your job to make sure you don't lead me straight into Hell. It doesn't matter if you want to be leader, Aaron, because Ozpin made you the leader, which means that you've got look after us, you have to lead us. So if you don't think you're good enough then make yourself good enough. Don't sit around bemoaning your lack of worth because that's pure bullshit. That's all I have to offer you, Aaron. I really hope you weren't expecting comfort or something because that sure as hell isn't what I just gave you." The Faunus chuckled.

"…No… but I think it was just what I needed." There was a comfortable silence until Aaron said, "Hey Ringtail."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever secret Kulamin tried to force out of you I hope you'll trust us enough to reveal it yourself someday. And I plan to kick the ever-loving crap out of him for putting you in that situation."

Ringtail smiled warmly. "Thanks, boss. That's real sweet of ya."

"I still don't want to be called that though."

"Righto… boss."

"…I'm going to throw you off the roof very soon if you don't cut that shit out, Ringtail."

"Now you're just spoiling my fun. Like seriously, cut it out with all that stereotypical 'serious monk' stuff."

There was a long pause.

"…What the fuck did you just call me?"

"Stereotypical serious monk?"

"…That's it; you're going off the roof."

"Wait! No! Aaron, come on! Don't do thi-" Ringtail was cut off by Aaron grabbing him by the collar and belt and throwing him off the roof. After a few seconds the Faunus reappeared next to his leader in his customary puff of green smoke.

"… Not cool."

"Yeah, but it sure was entertaining. And therapeutic. I feel much better."

"I hate you sometimes."

"And after giving me such an awe-inspiring speech too. I'm hurt."

"…Fuck you, Aaron."

"I love you too, partner." They stood in a companionable silence for a while until Aaron asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"If you really have too."

"Why do you think Ozpin didn't make Kulamin leader?"

"Oh for the love of… Are you still hung up on this?" Ringtail muttered, exasperated.

"No, I'm just curious. I mean, think about it. Kulamin displayed nothing but good qualities throughout the initiation. He showed he was a good fighter, could work well with others and… I mean, he rode a Beowulf to the ruins for fun. Why didn't anything flag him as leader."

Ringtail mulled it over for a bit before finally saying, "I have no idea whatsoever." He glanced over just in time to see Aaron's shoulders slump a bit. "Oh come on! Don't tell me you're getting all depressed again!"

"It's just… a leader should be more of a people person."

"Okay, seriously? Yes, you may not be a very social person, unlike Kulamin, but have you seen some of the other leaders. Look at that Jaune kid. He's not exactly a social butterfly, now is he? And you've seen how flustered that Ruby girl can get. And sure you don't talk all that much around them but that tongue-lashing you gave the Schnee this morning shows that when it comes down to it you're as eloquent as you need to be. There was spark in your eye, Aaron. So it's not about being eloquent all the time, it's about figuring out what drives you to be like that again."

Aaron made a quiet noise of agreement.

"So buck up, ya bastard. Because you're the leader, for better or for worse. And no matter what anyone says you'll be our leader, unless some Grimm gets you or some freak accident claims your life."

"That's not exactly comforting considering you're the source of most of the freak accidents in my life nowadays."

"…You just had to spoil the moment, didn't you? I give up."

Aaron laughed and said, "Thanks for the pep talk, Ringtail."

"Just make sure to return the favour if I ever end up like this. It is sorta your job."

"It's a promise."

"Good. Now let's get going. I'm hungry."

"Are you ever not hungry?"

"Very rarely. Now let's go already!"

The martial artist chuckled. "Alright, I'm coming."

"Oh, you might want to chat with Grenin and Kulamin about the whole leader thing as well."

"Why?"

"Well, I think Grenin has noticed what going on with you and has some things planned to try and get you to stand up as a leader and all that."

"What sort of things?"

"I don't know, I don't want to know and I hope to hell I never have to find out but the only way that's going to happen is if you talk to him and convince him to not do it."

"…Yeah, you're right, I don't want to know. But why Kulamin?"

"I just want to make sure that he knows he won't be leader, you know. Just in case he had any ideas."

"I think you're being paranoid now, Ringtail. But I guess if I'm going to be leader I might as well make sure everyone else knows it." The last part was said with a fair dose of humour.

"That's the spirit. Now let's go already."

**I thought of putting a bit more in here but I realise that trying to shoehorn anymore in would pretty much ruin the thing.**

**Oh, and for the record I already had the above scene planned. YuriSmirnoff's review simply prompted me to get around to it sooner.**

**As always, read and review.**

**Until next time,**

**Elemental Hybrid**


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